Polly Read Free

today!
    Nothing was easy during the war and there was nothing like the medical services we have now. I remember when Son and I were ill at one time – I think it was in one of those ‘flu epidemics that caused so many deaths. We were so ill that we could not go to school, though Doll seemed to go through untouched. Anyway, us two could not go to school but Mum could not afford to miss a day’s work – if you did not work you did not get paid, it was as simple as that. So she tucked us up in bed as warmly as she could each day and off she went. We were not getting any better though, and I think she was beginning to get worried so she started thinking about getting the doctor round. Trouble was, doctors cost one-and-six a visit and Mum just did not have the money. She was talking about this at work and one of the women told her that, because her husband was away in the army, if she went to the RO (Relief Office) she would get a doctor’s visit for free. So off she went, queued up for ages, and finally got in to see the clerk. She explained her problem, at which point the clerk asked why she had come to the RO.

    Dolly and Polly (seated) in about 1915 on a postcard to be sent to Dad at the front.
    â€˜Well, I haven’t got any money’ she replied.
    â€˜But you have got a wedding ring haven’t you,’ he said, pointing at her finger, ‘Pawn that first before you say you haven’t got any money!’
    Can you imagine it? Mum was really scandalised and walked out. Instead she came home and told us we could have any toy in the toy-shop if we got better. I think that really she just begrudged giving any money to doctors. We did both recover and Mum went and got some money from the Provident to buy our promised toys. Son got a trolley full of building blocks and I got a dolly. I had that dolly for years and loved it more than words can tell. Mind you, I think Mum was paying off the club for the rest of the year, if not the rest of the war!
    While Dad was away in the war we only saw him once in the next four years. I don’t know much about what he did and what happened to him during the war, though I know that at one time he volunteered to be the cook for his regiment or unit or whatever it was. Perhaps he felt it was safer to be away from the shooting. It might have been safer for him but I am not sure about the rest of the soldiers. He only had the job a short while – apparently one day some of the men killed some rabbits and said that they would really likea rabbit stew. He had no idea what to do so threw the rabbits into the pot, skinned but still with their furry feet on and complete with their innards! He was court-martialled for that and returned to more regular duties. He did see some action though. I remember him talking about ‘going over the top’ and for some reason I think it was that awful Somme battle. Anyway, he said he left his trench and marched straight ahead towards the enemy lines with bullets flying all around him. It was pretty bad so he stopped to look around him and suddenly realised that he was the only one left standing! It did not take him a second to realise that this was too dangerous so he quickly laid himself down in the nearest shell-hole and stayed there until it was dark. Then he made his way back to his own lines. I suppose that if he had told his story it would have been called cowardice or something, but there were so few survivors from his regiment that nobody had the nerve to ask him how he managed it. I don’t know if that was the occasion, but for years the pride of place on our mantelpiece at home was taken by his cap-badge, with its top half carried away by a bullet. It went straight through the hat he was wearing without even ruffling his hair!
    It must have shaken him a bit though and I think that may have been the reason he got a thirteen-day leave. On the first morning of his leave, Mum got us – that is me, Doll and