Eileen talks about her life from childhood just before the Second World War. Details of where she lived and life in Hull during and after the war. She talks about her wedding and the birth of her children as well as housing after the war and describes what entertainment and clothing was like in the post-war period. She talks about her children going abroad to live and her husband’s death after 50 years of marriage. The recording finishes with a small anecdote recorded separately about her experience of voting day parades in her early life.

Time Code Notes

[00:00:00] Eileen was the eldest of 8 children. They shared a bedroom, girls on one side and boys on the other. She describes where her relatives lived. They moved to Anlaby Road so her father could be near work. Her eldest brother was killed in a bike accident aged thirteen, he was hit by a bus. Eileen looked after younger siblings. They would go to the park, play games.

[00:03:15] Eileen remembers the Second World War. They had gas masks. Children found it funny. Her father was called up, he was one of the first because he was in the navy during the First World War. They moved to North Hull. Her father was injured in 1940. He suffered serious leg injuries and was in hospital for a long time.

[00:07:00] Eileen describes life during the war in North Hull. She worked at Reckitt’s once she left school at 14. She had to cycle to Stoneferry avoiding bomb craters. She remembers the Anderson Shelter but often couldn’t use it because it would be flooded. They sat under the table during air raids.

[00:09:09] Hull was different after the war. Eileen recalls the damage. There was more work because there were more factories. She remembers victory celebrations in Queen’s Gardens, remembers dancing, singing and parades.

[00:09:59] Eileen recalls her work at Reckitt’s making tins, canisters with cordite and batteries for the war. After the war she went camping in Nettleton’s Field at Withernsea with other girls from Reckitt’s. She started going out with a boy whom she eventually married.

[00:13:13] Eileen describes her wedding. Utility wedding, borrowed dress from neighbour. Bridesmaid dresses borrowed too. She was married in St. Michael’s Church with a reception at home. Food was still rationed so her neighbours contributed, she was allowed extra by the government for wedding. She was 20 years old.

[00:16:41] Eileen recalls living with her Grandparents after her marriage. 1947 was an extremely cold winter. Money was scarce, her husband was a bricklayer and often could not work during the winter. Women were not allowed to work at Reckitt’s after marriage.

[00:18:30] Eileen’s first child was born in the July after her wedding. She recalls giving birth at home at visits from the midwife. They had a house on Maxwell Terrace. The rent was 4s 11d a week. There was no electricity, cooked on a primus stove. Everything was rationed.

[00:21:24] Eileen had twins while living in Maxwell Street. She went on the list for a council house. They moved to a bigger house on Brighton Street with a small garden. The house was damaged as a result of the building of the Bird’s Eye factory. They moved once more to North Hull Estate, 1^st Avenue. This was a three bedroom house with an indoor bathroom.

[00:23:56] Eileen’s mother died at 51. Her father was still an invalid and three of her siblings were still at home. She looked after all of them. Both households moved to a four bedroom house on Watton Grove, off Beverley Road. At this time there were farms all around.

[00:25:20] Eileen didn’t go out dancing or to the cinema until her eldest child was 16. They would have home concerts, dressing up, a week’s holiday to Withernsea. They bought an old double decker bus and made it up like a caravan.

[00:26:56] Clothing – whatever was handed down. Children’s clothes were made or knitted. Eileen talks about her sons, one was a police officer and the other moved to Australia and worked for the parole board. The twins moved to Canada, Eileen tried living there with them but missed the rest of the family too much. She describes the differences between Canada and the UK.

[00:31:48] Her husband died of cancer just after their golden wedding anniversary. Eileen has lived in Pickering Homes for the last twenty years.

[00:35:21] {Different interviewer} Eileen describes voting day and how her grandmother rode to the polling booth on a donkey. Her grandmother told them to vote liberal but they all voted labour anyway.

These time code notes are provided as a rough guide to the above recording. Untold Hull would like to thank all the volunteers who took part for their time and hard work in producing this information.