Memories are made of this

Velma Cynthia Munns nee Freeman
4th March 1930

I was born at 52 Irthlingborough Road Finedon at 9.30pm.The youngest child of Charles and Ella Freeman (nee Brown). It was Pancake Day but they were not served until ten o’clock that night. I had three brothers and four sisters and in turn I learnt something from each of them. I have always felt privileged to have belonged to this family and also having such devoted parents. My mother was a” homemaker,” she had a gift of good management, was a good dressmaker and an excellent cook. The house was kept “spick and span” and cleanliness and good manners, especially at table, were the order of the day. However busy she was though she always found time for bedtime prayers whilst we were children.

My father had a versatile disposition, always knowing how best to deal with any situation. When my eighth birthday party was taking place my mother was called away, in fact Grandmother Brown was dying; not wanting to disappoint my friends, dad took over the entertainment, at one stage dancing with the coal bucket, much to our delight. Clown though he was not and when mother returned, the serious side of his nature was quickly restored.

He was employed for thirty-six years as Bakery Manager at Irthlingborough Co-operative Society. An accomplished confectioner he made exquisite wedding cakes, which later on was passed on to my eldest sister and to some extent myself. We all had a flair for creative cookery and enjoyed doing so.

As a family we were encouraged to express our own opinions, whether it was concerning religion or politics providing that we each respected one another’s views and mostly we did.
My maternal grandparents were Socialists. At one time they were school caretakers and also had a small wood business and lived opposite as to what is now Finedon CofE Junior School. My paternal grandparents were staunch Tories. They had a small holding keeping livestock and had a milk business. They lived at 4 Dolben Square. My father’s politics however were strong LABOUR. He was an active Trade Unionist and when he was employed by a former bakery business had to keep his views under wraps.

He served on Wellingborough Council for many years and later, in May 1959, became their chairman. Had it been present day, he would have been the Mayor and my mother the Mayoress. We entertained very often at home; my parents always ready to welcome visitors, well known and unknown were treated just as graciously. I remember Lord and Lady Lindgren, M.P. for Wellingborough as well as Lady Nathan having tea with us. They had a wonderful year of office and attended many splendid functions, one being a garden party at Althorpe House, when the present Earl Spencer’s granddad was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire. Another function they attended was the Lord Mayors Banquet at the Guild Hall in London when Lord Stockdale was the Lord Mayor of London.

As a family we were brought up to be respectful of all people, whatever their status in life; to show compassion to those less fortunate than ourselves and to be understanding, generous and hospitable. To be dignified however difficult it was to be so, but at the same time, knowing when it was right to speak up for something that we believed in.

This brings me to now giving brief details of how my family was made up, in order of their ages.
Doris, the eldest, worked in the Finedon Co-op office until she was almost 21 then feeling the need to improve her career she applied for a supervisor’s job at the Norwich Co-op office; she got this position and remained there for five years, then returning to Kettering, after her marriage to Bert Pettit of Irthlingborough. They had a son and daughter. When the 39-45 war began Bert had to join the army.

My brother Arthur had to endure a few years of the depression of the 30’s but eventually he got work and went from strength to strength. He wanted to join the Fleet Air Arm, but because by now he was employed on valuable War-Work, he could not be released but he joined the Voluntary Auxiliary Finedon Fire Brigade and despite working all the day, he left late evenings with the Brigade to fight fires in London and Coventry during the blitz. He had married Phyllis in 1937 July and their son Peter was born Sept 1938; after the war he was employed at Whitworths. He became Chairman of their Social Club and on more than one occasion won their award for being “Driver of the Year” He was a highly respected employee. He was always ready to help people and many times I sought his advice. Arthur was a supportive brother to have. Sadly he died at 51 years of age.

My sister Winifred (Win) married an Earls Barton man, Harold Betson. He trained for the police force and when he qualified they married in 1938 and went to live at Coventry, their remaining family still live there. During the war at one time, Win had to cook on an open fire as the supply of gas was turned off for several weeks. She had tremendous courage and helped in the Blitz as a Fire Watcher and comforting people who had been bombed out. Harold and Win had two boys and two girls.

In 1938 Phyllis married her childhood sweetheart Dennis Mayes. Soon after war broke out Dennis was called up to join the army. He was sent to France in early June 1944 and on the following June 1944 their son Robert was born. Phyllis did war work to and
made ribs for wings of Lancaster Bombers at the Almarco Wellingborough. Her hours were long and arduous. Prior to this Phyllis and Win were in the tailoring trade so the family sewing machine was seldom idle as between them they made suits for all the men folk in the family. As mother was also dressmaking we girls were always nicely turned out. Phyllis and I are the only two remaining siblings and we are still very close.

My brother Ronald followed in dad’s footsteps and became a baker with the idea that eventually they could form a partnership. However we all knew that Ronald’s aims in life were to fly. He studied endlessly and I frequently tested his Morse Code skills and it was therefore no surprise that in 40 or 41 he volunteered and was accepted for the RAF. At first he was a Batman but his Wing Commander recommended him for Aircrew training and he joined Bomber Command. No one was more proud than me when I walked side by side with him, his “wings” proudly displayed on his uniform.

Dennis and Ron both taught me to appreciate music and I was perhaps only about ten years of age when I could listen to and understand music; what a gift I received from them.

Christmas 1942

Ronald married Irene and she was not quite twenty. The wedding .took place at St Mary’s Finedon and the reception was also held in Finedon which meant lots of fun and frivolity at no 52. The hit song “White Christmas” was all the rage and by Boxing Day we all knew every word; it was to be an unforgettable time for us all. Once again our parents excelled by providing the catering themselves and guests we had in abundance. It was particularly special for me as I was a bridesmaid with my sister Phyllis; nephew Peter was paging boy and niece Dorothy the “Posie Girl”.

In June Ron came home on 48 hour leave and on the Sunday we had thirteen people round our table for tea. Mum did not like this number and would not be convinced that it did not really matter as we had a beautiful bull terrier Bruce, and he was like family so when my friend Betty called mum asked her to share the tea with us and she accepted. Following tea we all gathered outside chatting on the lawn and it was wonderful. Sadly our happiness was short-lived as the following Sunday, at tea-time, with only mum, dad and myself present, we received the news that was to change our lives forever. Whilst returning from Cologne, on a bombing mission. Over BELGIUM Ronald had been shot down whilst baling out; he had been machine gunned whilst parachuting down and died in the arms of a doctor, who was part of the underground movement there. He came down in a village called GESVES That was the worst day of my life and Christmases were not celebrated again in our house for many years to come.Father and mother crying and their arms around each other sobbing for hours was devastating.
Several of Ron’s friends belonging to Finedon were to also lose their lives.

When peace was declared and folks were celebrating VE day I was a split person, dancing in the street with my friends, and then going home to a grief stricken family. A friend of mine had also lost his brother, so we consoled each other but he and I both took the view that war was futile; two very mixed up fifteen year olds.

My brother Bob was next in line and was always full of fun, never being afraid to try out new escapades even riding a motorbike at fourteen, until Dad found out. He kept us all amused and at times also amazed but he was a real charmer, and we loved him especially for his humour.

He served with the 8th Army in Tunisia, North Africa, Greece and Italy. He cooked for the officers and whilst abroad, seeing so many starving children, he opened a soup kitchen most days outside the camp gates using the food that the officers did not use. Whilst he was commended for this of course it had to be stopped with the authorities pointing out that enemy planes were liable to bomb army units and the children waiting outside for food could have been killed also-he tried.
Bob married twice and had one daughter and three sons, a lovely family.

My sister Avis was nearly six years older than me, but my mother tried to dress us both alike, copying the then Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. I loved being dressed up but Avis hated it, she would rather have been wearing clothes suitable for feeding granddad Freeman’s horses or walking the dogs.
Avis was impetuous and loved to lark, when she did not have her nose in a book- a real bookworm. One day I remember whilst we were visiting Doris in Norwich she felt a bit bored and suddenly she took off my rabbit wool beret and threw it off of the bus and we had to ask the bus driver to stop so that we could retrieve the beret Avis joined the WAFFS at 17, she later met and married Frank Hall and after she returned to civilian life, she had a family, Christine, Richard and Nicholas. When she died in her fifties it was a great loss to us all.

Looking back as I write I have had a good life, devoted parents,protective brothers and sisters and when the nephews and nieces came along I had fun all over again and my role suddenly reversed; I was an auntie at seven years old.

I spent halcyon days at the infant’s school, but when war broke out; our junior school days were quite different. We had a new experience when the evacuees came, not only did they share our desks but also our homes. It was not unusual or frowned upon to sleep three in a bed.

Soldiers came to Finedon and at first they were billeted in villagers homes, the Canadians were the first to arrive. School hours were erratic because of the Air Raids.

I remember a French girl coming to the Senior School and she lived at Finedon Hall; I believe her name was Michelin. How isolated she must have felt because we could not converse with her. I thought it must have been marvellous to live at the Hall until my mother pointed out to me that perhaps she had left all of her family back in France; we do not always see a true picture. March the 4th 1943 was my thirteenth birthday. Whilst in assembly our headmaster Captain Sutton announced that King George the sixth and his wife queen Elizabeth were to visit Wellingborough that day. He said if we went home and got permission from our parents to go on the visit we could go and we were to take a packed lunch. Parents would have been very hesitant due to possible day time bombing. Eagerly we returned to school and off we set, walking of course. We positioned ourselves in Cannon Street on a high wall and with lots of legs dangling we waited. Finally, whoops of joy went up as the Royal Car approached with the standard flying high. Alas! all we saw was the car. We were sitting so high up that had we leaned forward we would have fallen off of the wall. The fact that we did not see the king and queen did not seem to matter as we had a good time anyway. Down we got gathering up our belongings. We set off to make our way back to Finedon. When we got half way home, near to what we used to call the “Waterworks” house along, along came Browns cattle truck. The driver stopped and offered us all a lift. In we piled, not giving a thought to the manure and straw inside as by this time the novelty of the long walk was wearing a bit thin. In we went pushing and shoving until we were all aboard and we wobbled off

We arrived in Finedon just as the workers were returning back to the factories, having been home for their dinners.
The alighting place was Dunkley’s Wood Yard Wellingborough Road. When the tail gate was put down imagine people’s faces when instead of a beast emerging out of the van came a hoard or should I say a herd of boys and girls what an experience that was for us all and for me certainly a birthday I would never forget.

Another lesson my mother taught me was not to be envious. One Finedon parade day we were waiting for the floats to come along when I saw a little girl, about my age, five or six, riding a brand new tricycle. I would have loved a ride on it. I must have looked at it with longing eyes as the two mothers chatted together. I heard Brenda’s mother quietly say to mine “We have bought her that trike as she will shortly lose her sight which of course she did. That little girl grew up Blind and was the mother of AUDREY author of this book.

I left school at 14 and became an invoice typist but when I was 16 or 17 I went to work in Mr Tanns the builder office. It was hard to start with but once we gained mutual trust and understanding we worked well together. He instilled great confidence in me and in turn I respected him very much. I furthered my education and when I was 23 passed my Oxford School Certificate. Mr Tann also provided me with my future husband as I courted one of his plumbers.

Bob and I married in 1956 At St Mary’s Finedon. I had been a very devoted member of the Independent Wesleyan Bible Class and had enjoyed friendship and spiritual guidance in my youth which continued in my twenties; I will always be thankful for this; who could forget Zena and Betty; two really lovely caring ladies..

I still attend St Mary’s regularly and so I had every reason to return to my roots and my sons were christened there.

I have worked as a receptionist at the Tudor Gate Hotel, once playing hostess the Margaret Thatcher (Lady) when she was Junior Minister of Education. I then spent four and a half years at United Biscuits and 20 years at J.R. Gammidge & Co Ltd.

I have enjoyed being part of Finedon. My Town Women’s Guild membership spans over 35 years, serving also as a Labour representative on Huxlow and Finedon Infants School body of Governors and Treasurer for for the Darby and Joan. For the past 4 to 5 years I have been a Parish councillor.

I could not have carried out these activities without the co-operation and support from my husband Bob. He has always been a tower of strength and I thank him for being there for me. I wish also to thank my sons, Christopher and Charles for the many times that I have called upon them for assistance. They have been wonderful. Thanks Chris and Chas