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Hylda
Bonser |
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Hylda was born in 1920 at Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Her husband, Alfred, was born close by at Huthwaite, Derbyshire. |
| Moving: For health reasons really, it was a healthier place than where we were. And I felt that at the time - I was in my early twenties, bringing up the children - although we lived in the country, on the Hardwick Estate, my children would have a better chance. So we took it. And neither of them had ever been away from home. And it was very strange and hard to adapt - not having the family come often, like as at Hardwick. At Stanton Farm - it was called - and we didn't see them very often, because the war was on then. But we settled down straight away. It was very sparse -no bathroom, no toilet. And the children enjoyed the fire and the bath - the tin bath infront of the fire - had to warm all the water. It was very hard indeed to come from a home where there'd been a bathroom and oven. There was no gas there, just electric, so you had to saw wood when you wanted to bake. And always being interested in baking, I made my own bread and everything, because there was nothing in the village where you could shop. If you forgot something then you managed. You didn't go and ask the neighbour to help you. And that was how I started to be independent, but yet to be involved with things. It went on for - must have been till 1949. |
Hylda with daughters, |
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Pocket money: The children when they went to school - well they was allowed two pennies worth of sweets a week from Mrs Kemp, who lived in the cottage on Stanton Lane. She had a Welsh dresser with jars of sweets on it and these old fashioned scales in the sitting room where they lived - because it was only two-up and two-down again. And the children used to go over, and I used to take them over. And they'd stand and pick out what they wanted, because they wanted as much as they could get for two pence. And of course Mrs Kemp were good to them. Then they'd got theirs. And then Alfred and myself, we had something, which was a packet of Woodbines and a box of matches. That was our spending money: five Woodbines, that we had between us, and a box of matches. |
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The
Farm: Mr McLaren: he was the manager; he managed the place. It belonged
to the Widmerpool Estate, but a gentleman from Bassingfield rented it.
The land round was very poor until it got sort of looked after - and
they got somebody in that worked with them, as did these things. |
Alfred in cowshed at Firs Farm, Nicker Hill.
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Alfred with bull at Firs Farm.
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Half-a-pig at Christmas: Every Christmas - well not every Christmas - after the farm workers had been there for a while - but there was only my husband who worked, didn't live in the farmhouse. The farmer eventually gave half-a-pig at Christmas. I didn't know - I did know what to do with it - but the way as it should have been done. So I was strictly tutored by the farm manager's wife how to sort the meat out: sausage meat, brawn meat was the lowest, sausage meat and pork for pork pies, salt the ham that you had and the hock. When it were winter time, and it was hung on the wall in the cottage - and that's where they always hung - you'd go with a knife to cut slice off it when you wanted it. Getting a bit particular in my home, I wanted to decorate this little hall, stone steps up to it - and all the top floor was concrete with horsehair underneath - and to my disgust I took the part of ham down that was left, and I'd got a big grease ham on the wall. And it never came out; couldn't get it out. That's a memory I'll live with forever. |
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Sweeping the path to the church: The men would, on a Saturday, and along Browns Lane, where they went from out of the path in between the two buildings on Browns Lane. They used to take the beast there in the morning to have a longer time in the fields. The milking cows - and all these cows- would be going across, and of course messing the road. PC Otter, at first, came in and he said, "You know you've got to get that swept before Sunday." That was the road. Council didn't do it then. And he, Mr McLaren, said, "Right." And he got this boy, this young man as came just after we went there, Wilfy White, and Alf and Mr McClaren's son. They used to take a brush and they'd sweep that to the side of the road, then the path down to church
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Alfred with calf at Hill Farm. |
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Alfred and Hylda at Hill Farm, Stanton. |
German prisoners-of-war: They used to come in the morning from Monday to Friday. They'd come in a lorry with an escort, one man. He would stay with them all day. Bring their own lunch and then go home at five o'clock and come again next day. I found most of them very kind, willing men, who appreciated my family and my children, because they were married themselves with families, and they'd left them at home. They were helpful with little gifts that they brought for the kids - and for me too. And for many years I kept in contact with them. ...Once there was some called 'black shirts', that came from Canada. They did the dyking at the bottom of Websters' garden and near to us. And they did the path from the cottage. There was no way in - only from the church. And having a pushchair for the kids when they were tiny - they were young - they made a path there, and that was wonderful. |
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Published by Sandra Ford August 2001 Email: sandrafordwolds@yahoo.co.uk
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Full
transcripts and audio recordings of the interviews are available
through the Nottinghamshire County Libraries and the Nottingham City Libraries. |
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