My name is Teresa and I was born in 1945. My father worked for the railways and had one of their cottage’s. I was born into a very unhappy home. My father was a drunk always hitting my mother and the boys. I have two older brothers, six and four years older than me. My mother left when I was 6 months old.
When I was 15 I worked eight hours a day in an underwear factory putting elastic in knickers. It was a very boring job. Then I would go home to a very unhappy house and was in bed for 9 o’clock. No friends were allowed to visit. It was a lonely life. When I was 18 a friend from work asked me if I would go to Italy with her. I said yes. So I done lots of over time and saved up enough money go without my mother knowing. It was July 1964 we went to San Remo and stopped in a pension. The American navy was in port. What a lovely time we had. While we were there Jim Reeves died in a plane crash. I was very restless when I got home. One day I was reading the Valentine girls magazine and in it was an advert for women to join the WRAC. I filled it in and sent it off. I was accepted to train as a driver. The delight at leaving home was wonderful. I met other girls at Nottingham railway station and we all travelled down to Guildford together. One the first day there we were given our uniforms and kit. Then we were shown our rooms. It was a beautiful new building that the Queen had just opened. We were four to a room. Three of the girls I had travelled down with shared with me. There was a girl of 17 in with us as well. She cried all night and the next night as well. She was home sick. In the end her mother came and took her home. The nurse gave us all a head check and the girls with lice were deloused and a towel put round their heads. In the cookhouse you knew who had the nits which was very degrading. Our time there was spent keeping our uniform in immaculate order, bulling shoes most of the evening, drilling, PE and classroom work. We could go out at night as long as everything was ship shape. We used to go to the big dances in Aldershot which was full of soldiers. There was no hanging around like wallflowers. I thought I had died and gone to heaven there were so many men wanting to dance with me. At the end of the course we were given our next training units. Drivers and Clerk’s were sent to Yeovil in Somerset. Then we had a passing out parade and went on leave. My friend Barbara went to Aldershot to train as a military police woman. I went to my friends Wendy’s house that I had been to Italy with. Her family gave me a wonderful Christmas.
On Wednesday George took me to Bents garden centre near Leigh Manchester.
We were looking at the plants when a man with a video camera came up and asked George if he would like to be on BBC1 North West Tonight about the hosepipe ban that was starting on Friday. George said yes. The man asked him if he would report his neighbours if they flouted the law. George said he was a law biding citizen and if he abided by it then everyone else should. He never said if he would or wouldn’t. We have good law abiding neighbours. Not expecting to be on as he was only one of a few that was asked. We sat and watched the programme and there low and behold there was George one of three that was on. We had a good laugh about George and his ten second fame.
On Saturday I went with my grandchildren Brandon and Lucy to Brandon’s school fair at Newton-Le-Willows. It was a very hot day. Brandon watched his friends on the stage singing and dancing while Lucy went around the stalls with me. She bought three teddy’s and a pretty box. Then we went to the tee shirt stall. Lucy wanted to make her own so she coloured the front with pretty patterns and on the back she put Lucy 10. I bought them both ice cream then they went on the bouncy castle and the slide. As it was getting near closing time everything went to half price so we got burgers and hotdogs. It was a great day I told Brandon god willing we would be there again next year.
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