We Walk in Memory's Garden E-Book

Stephanie Meier

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 441

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

After finding letters from her ancestors, Stephanie Meier decided to publish their story in the form of a novel. Their fate carried the family across three continents and through two world wars. We Walk in Memory' s Garden is Stephanie Meier's first book.

Leseprobe

The life-story of our mother, grandmother and great grandmother, as told here, covers a little less than one hundred years. One hundred years in which these three strong women experienced adventure and suffering in their own home country of England and also in far-away lands. Throughout their lives, they succeeded in retaining a positive outlook on life.

Margaret at the age of about twenty and ninety

For our mother, Margaret – Pearl – Mickie, with love

List of Persons

1 A Black Day

2 Black Cloud

3 The Nursery in Australia

4 Stormy Seas

5 Mediterranean Moods

6 In Warmer Waters

7 The New Homeland

8 New Start in Homebush

9 Roses in Australia

10 Poor Little Kittie

11 Visit from Phyllis Bide

12 Sanctuary in Pirbright

13 Ague

14 Compensation

15 Connections in the North

16 Impressed by Eastbourne

17 Clinical Results

18 A Difficult Disclosure

19 A Love of the Sea and the Earth

20 The Sands of Life Run Out

21 Another Black Day

22 The Continent in Turmoil

23 Harry Serves his Country

24 They Died for a Better World

25 The First Part is the Worst Part

26 Finding a Niche

27 A Wedding for her Birthday

28 A Commanding House in Simla

29 A Disciplined Regiment

30 Sewing Machine and Picnic

31 Festivities for a Much-Loved Viceroy

32 Snow and Developing Changes

33 Pregnancy Meetings and Birth

34 Childhood and Change

35 The Long Voyage Home

36 ’Ospital, That’s What she Wants

37 Wonderful Wedding

38 Sun-Trap of the South

39 Mary’s New Freedom

40 Pearl Becomes Margaret

41 Robin

42 Happy Schooldays

43 Career Setback

44 Cousins Have Fun

45 This Time it Feels Right

46 Fairy Feet and Summer Mum

47 Twinkle – a Distraction from the War

48 Life is Changed by a Bomb

49 A Peculiar Diplomat

50 Twinkle Goes West

51 Flying Down to Fun

52 Mad About the Girl

53 Not the World’s Best Storyteller

54 Christmas at Home with the Family

55 Time is so Precious

56 Accepted by the Family

57 Not Everyone can Dance

58 There’s a Jinx on it

59 An Operation Challenges Two Lovers

60 Married at Last

61 Mr and Mrs Winstone-Smith

62 Lipstick Villa

63 WAAF for One Day

64 A New Chance in Norfolk

65 Perhaps too Perfect

66 This is the End

67 But the War Goes On

68 Life Without Bob

69 A Dragon Makes Life Difficult

70 Back to the Family

71 Montreux Elegance

72 Fritz Arrives in Eastbourne

73 Healing Wounds

74 Far from Home

75 Not a Good Start

76 Back Home

Glossary

Bibliography

Chronology

Acknowledgements and

Afterword

List of Persons

AclandAudrey: Actress in ‘Twinkle’

Amma: Wet-nurse of little Pearl in Simla

AndersonDaphne: WAAF from Canada, a friend of Margaret and Bob in Lossiemouth

BabbingtonAlice: Mentor of apprentices at Marshall & Snelgrove in Manchester, colleague and friend of Blanche and Gertie

BadgerRobert and Miss: Retired US diplomat and his sister, take in Margaret and Blanche as evacuees. Blanche becomes their housekeeper.

Bance Mrs: Landlady and friend of Mary Bennett in Salisbury

BaudinSolange: Farmer’s wife in France, cares for Harry Bennett during the First World War

BeardmoreHilda: Dancer with the ‘Rosebuds’ in ‘Twinkle’

BeddellsPhyllis: Founder of the Royal Academy of Dance and Margaret’s dancing teacher in London

BennettArthur Henry: Son of Henry and Emma, grain chandler, murdered in South America

Bennett Charles Henry (Charlie): Son of Henry and Emma, rose grower in Australia

Bennett Charles Henry (Harry): Son of Meggie and Charlie, gardener and soldier

Bennett Edmund (Eddie): Son of Henry and Emma, rose grower in England and Australia, in England married to Caroline, with whom he has the children

Dolly, Frank, Leo, Kath and Vera. In Australia he marries three more times and has a number of children.

BennettEmma-Maria: Henry’s wife

Bennett Francis (Frank): Son of Henry and Emma

BennettHenry (the Dad): famous rose breeder in Stapleford, Wiltshire and Shepperton, Middlesex

Bennett Katherine Emma (Kittie): Daughter of Meggie and Charlie, drowned as a child

Bennett Margaret Davison (Meggie): Charlie’s wife, teacher

Bennett Maria Caroline (Mollie): Daughter of Henry and Emma

BennettMary: Daughter of Henry and Emma

BennettPreston Clifford: Son of Meggie and Charlie, died as a child of meningitis

Benson-DareJoan: Margaret’s school friend and dancing partner in Eastbourne

BideArthur und Phyllis: Owner of a nursery growing flowers, hops and trees in Badshot Lea, Surrey; Eddie and Charlie’s employer

Bird Grenadier Oliver: one of Paul’s regimental subordinates

Blankenberg Mr and Mrs: Margaret’s employers in St Moritz

Brunskill Reverend: Vicar of St Peter’s Church in Hale, Cheshire

Buckwell Reverend: Vicar of Christchurch, Simla

CaffynKatie: Dancing teacher of Margaret and Joan in Eastbourne

Cadwell Matron: Matron in convalescent home for war casualties in North Mymms, Hertfordshire

CarrMelissa: John Proudlock’s lover in Simla, Peter Carr’s wife in Lahore

Carr Captain Peter: Melissa’s husband, living in Lahore

CarrLouisa und Mollie: Peter and Melissa’s children

Chelmsford Viscount: Viceroy for Great Britain in India

ClibranJoe: Owner of a flower nursery in Altrincham and a tree nursery in Hale, Cheshire near Manchester; Harry’s employer

Coles Miss: Headmistress at Holy Trinity Primary School in Eastbourne

Cooper Captain: Captain of the Home Guard in Eastbourne, civil profession Company Director

Cotton Sergeant Ted: A regimental comrade of Paul, subsequently teacher at Lawrence Military School, Sanawar near Simla

CottonDoris: Ted’s wife, with a daughter of the same name, Pearl’s Godmother

Daniel Mary Jane (Minnie): Meggie’s sister

DanielHerbert Cato: Minnie’s husband

Daniel Rosa Kathleen (Kath), Claude Cato and Herbert Cato: Children of Herbert and Minnie

Douglas Lord: unkempt Scot sharing a table with the Bennetts on the SS Chimboraza

Dring Mr and Mrs: Landlord and landlady of Bob and Margaret in Norfolk

DrysdaleBert: Fishmonger in Badshot Lea, Surrey

Ellis Margaret Olive: Daughter of Meggie and Charlie, Blanche’s sister, Jack’s wife

Ellis John William (Jack): Olive’s husband, secretary, served in the Royal Navy

EllisHarry: Jack’s brother, served in the Royal Naval Air Service (Fleet Air Arm)

EllisWilliam: Father of Jack and Harry, gardener in Wales and Germany

EllisMary: Mother of Jack und Harry

Ellis Charles Robin and Ruth Mary: Children of Jack und Olive

FarloweBlanche: Neighbour and pupil of Meggie in Australia

Favre Mr: Director of the Palace Hotel, St Moritz

FischerHelen: Choreographer of the ‘Rosebuds’

FoxOlive: Wife of Clarkson Rose, Leading Lady in ‘Twinkle’

Ffyffe Sergeant (Ffyffie): Officer in the Home Guard in Eastbourne, baker by profession

Gatley Gertrude (Gertie): Paul’s sister, seamstress

GatleyBill: Gertie’s husband

Gillespy Reverend Frank: Rector and Headmaster of Bishop Cotton School in Simla

GoodchildBlanche Gladys: Daughter of Meggie and Charlie, Paul’s wife, seamstress

GoodchildPaul (Pop): Blanche’s husband, Sergeant Major in the British Colonial Army

Hannah Flight Officer: Kerr’s Navigator in 464 Squadron on the Woippy-Mission with Bob

HaydenJoy: Actress in ‘Twinkle’

Heard Mr and Mrs and their son Peter: Neighbours of the Goodchilds in Wimborne

HeatherJack: Gardener in the employ of Henry Bennett, sent with his wife to Australia to help Charlie

HerringJane: Meggie’s mother, daughter of Thomas Watson, shipowner in Northumberland

HerringWilliam: Meggie’s father, shipowner in Ferry-side, Swansea, Wales

Herring Frederick (Frank): Meggie’s brother

HerringEdward Francis: Brother of William, Meggie’s uncle who squandered her inheritance

HobdayViolet (Vi): Friend of the Goodchilds, Pearl’s Godmother

HobdayGeorge: Violet’s husband, with a son of the same name (Georgie)

Howarth Miss: Superintendant of the dressmaking department at Marshall & Snelgrove, Manchester

Hunter: Bob’s Labrador dog

IvoryPat: Niece of the grocer’s wife in Eastbourne, bridesmaid of Fritz and Margaret

JacksonAnne and Harriotte Miss: Meggie’s guardians and teachers

JamesGeoffrey: Comedian in ‘Twinkle’

Johnstone Mrs: Meggie’s nurse in Hale, Cheshire

KeechJoy: Dancer with the ‘Rosebuds’ in ‘Twinkle’

Kemble Dr James: Urologist in Harley Street, London

Kerr Flight Officer: Pilot in 464 Squadron on the Woippy Mission with Bob

KordaRex: Actor and comedian in ‘Twinkle’

LewisBarbara: Dancer with the ‘Rosebuds’ in ‘Twinkle’

Lovell Rene (Fairy Feet): Margaret’s schoolfriend in London, dancer with the ‘Rosebuds’ and bridesmaid at Margaret’s marriage to Bob

MalpasAdeen: Dancer with the ‘Rosebuds’ in ‘Twinkle’

McDonaldCharles Grant: Bob’s Navigator in 464 Squadron at Sculthorpe, Flight Officer in the RCAF

Meakin Flight Commander: Commander of 464 Squadron of the RAAF at Sculthorpe

MeierFritz: Margaret’s second husband, Swiss waiter

MeierMargaret (Pearl/Mick) Gertrude: Daughter of Paul and Blanche, dancer and Red Cross VAD nurse

MeierMarlis: Röbys wife

MeierNelly, Robert (Röby), Alfred (Freddy) and Oskar (Toto): Sister and brothers of Fritz

Meier Rosa (Mère) and Robert (Père): Mother and father of Fritz

Moody and Parky: two eccentric old maids on the SS Chimboraza

Oswald Victor (Vos): RAF Flight Officer, friend and intermittent colleague of Bob

Pearse Mrs: Commander at the convalescent home in North Mymms

Perry Richard (Dick): Employee in the same hotel as Fritz, shoemaker’s son, best man at the wedding of Margaret and Fritz

Phillips Dr: GP in Wimborne

Pickard Group Captain Percy (Pick): Commanding Officer at RAF Sculthorpe, Norfolk

Proudlock Lieutenant John: Paul’s regimental comrade, Melissa’s lover and Pearl’s Godfather

Rajit: Garden wallah, and pram wallah of little Pearl, in Simla

RatcliffeEleanor: Dancing teacher of Margaret and Joan in Eastbourne

Rawlinson General Henry: Officer in India and Britain, planned the Battle of the Somme 1916, subsequently Commander in India until his death in March 1925

Rose Clarkson (Clarkie): Founder of the show named ‘Twinkle’

SmithFlorence and Alfred: Bob’s parents

SmithLes: Bob’s brother, soldier in Egypt, electrical engineer

SmithRene: Bob’s sister, nurse in London

SpenceMagnus: Senior Meteorological Officer, Colonel with Bomber Command

Sutcliffe Mrs: English midwife in Simla

Sutherland Lieutenant Colonel: Paul’s commander with the Simla Rifles

TakacsBéla: Harry’s Hungarian work colleague at Clibran’s Tree Nursery in Hale, Cheshire

Twinkle: Pekinese dog of Clarkson Rose and Olive Fox VeversMarion: Neighbour’s daughter in Albert Road East, Hale

WarringtonEnid: Schoolfriend and bridesmaid of Olive

WeekesCecil: Sommelier and waiter, Fritz’ colleague in Eastbourne

Winstone-Smith Robert (Bob): Margaret’s first husband, Flight Officer in the RAF and the RAAF

WoodheadFrank and Anne: Shared a table with the Bennetts on the SS Chimboraza

1 A Black Day

Meggie leaned against her eldest daughter Blanche, grief weighing heavily on her heart and making her reel. Her red-blonde curls under the small black hat had gone frizzy in the constant drizzle. She looked down at the empty grave that was about to engulf the body of her husband Charlie. How could Charlie, with whom she had shared so much, now be gone? She heard the monotonous voice of the vicar reading the verse from the first letter to the Corinthians that she had chosen herself and which before had seemed so comforting: ‘For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive’. Now it just felt as if Christ himself was instrumental in robbing her of Charlie.

Beside her, Blanche straightened her back to support her mother and tightened her embrace of her little sister Olive who was sobbing pitifully. Harry, their brother, stood in stricken silence on the other side of the grave, his hat held limply in his hands. Harry – shy, retiring Harry – was about to become the breadwinner of the family. At 21, he hardly seemed ready for the new role. None of them could imagine how life would go on without Charlie, yet somehow it must.

A little further from the grave with their backs to the wall stood Charlie’s sisters Mollie and Mary, their hands folded piously, heads bowed and eyes lowered. Mollie looked even more severe than usual, with deep furrows lining her face. At some distance stood the Bides, Charlie’s employers, stiff in their attempt to convey compassion. Some of their employees had also come to pay their respects, and now stood, hats in hands, at the edge of the gathering.

The simple ritual slowly came to a close. As the grave was filled, the finality of what was happening slowly wormed its way into Meggie’s soul. After a brief blessing the vicar left the mourners alone with their grief. Olive had brought a rose from Bide’s Nursery, grown by Charlie himself, which she now laid on the grave. Then she sank to her knees, touching the earth of her beloved father’s grave. Olive had shared her father’s passion for all the earth held, such as plants and archeological artefacts. Now she seemed to embrace the very earth that held him. After her mother, she would suffer most from his death.

Meggie watched as a magpie ended its curving flight and flopped up into the pine tree behind Harry. It seemed to look at him with a menacing eye, as he took a step towards Olive, raising her into his arms and saying: «Come on, let’s get you into the warm!»

Olive sobbed into Harry’s coat, and Blanche and Meggie joined them as they walked slowly around the perimeter of Upper Hale Cemetery towards the lichgate. Mollie and Mary moved up to follow them, and then came the Bides and their employees, a sad little group leaving Charlie behind in the second grave of the new plot near the wall, with a simple wooden cross carrying his name and year of birth and death. There would be no headstone, as the family could not afford one.

Before the funeral, the steep walk behind the coffin up Upper Hale Road to the cemetery had seemed more than the family could bear, their energy sapped by emotion. Now they were all glad of the walk back down the hill towards the ‘Shepherd and Flock’ Inn, giving each of them time for thoughts, memories and the adjustment to a new phase of their lives. As they came in out of the drizzle and shook out their wet overcoats, they were glad to see that a fire had been lit. Although autumn had hardly begun, the damp air on this cool evening in mid-September 1907 had chilled them, and they all huddled gratefully around the fire. Meggie had arranged for a small spread of tea and sandwiches to be served there, to strengthen the mourners.

Soon it was time for Mollie and Mary to make their way back to Weymouth. The two sisters embraced their sister-in-law Meggie very warmly and took their leave. Blanche walked over to Farnham Station with her aunts, then hurried back to the ‘Shepherd and Flock’, from whence the family went slowly up the hill and home to Bide’s Cottages.

2 Black Cloud

Nine year old Olive had been unable to sleep at night for some time, and she often cried softly for hours on end.

The night after the funeral, she lay in bed remembering the time when Charlie was still alive and had not been able to work for two weeks. One day in August 1907, he had felt so bad that he had been unable to leave his bed. Meggie had attempted to divide her time between housework and the care of her sick husband, but Charlie’s care had taken up more and more time and energy, so that she had been obliged to neglect her chores. Her 19 year old daughter Blanche had been such a great help. She saw what work was required and got down to it in her practical, quiet way without making a fuss. Harry had spent as much time as he could with his father, thus relieving Meggie of her bedside duty for a while. Little Olive had found it more difficult to cope.

Each time her father had had a coughing fit, Olive had suffered agony for him, and she became so nervous that she was unable to be of any help. Sometimes she wept, but she tried to do so silently. She would really have liked to have spent as much time as she could with her father, but she simply could not bear to see him suffering and had to leave his room. Charlie was aware that his condition was causing Olive to suffer, which made it even worse for him.

It was a vicious circle which was hard to break.

Olive saw her father spitting more blood every day and becoming greyer and thinner in the face, and she was so afraid of losing him. During the nights, she would think of all the things that linked her closely to her father, and a bittersweet wave of nostalgia would choke her. Come the morning, she felt unrefreshed, tired and tense, and she was told off at school for not concentrating properly.

One Wednesday afternoon, Olive had no school, and as she approached Bide’s Cottages she could hear Charlie’s coughing from afar. When Olive came in, Meggie was looking extremely worried; she took her youngest daughter’s hand and said: «Olive, please nip over to the fishmonger’s as quick as you can and fetch a bucket of ice. I’ll make a compress with it that’ll ease your father’s cough! I really don’t know how else I can help him now.»

Charlie was coughing incessantly. Olive picked up the wooden bucket with the galvanised inner compartment lined with sphagnum. With a shaking hand, she placed the cushioned lid on top and ran out of the house as fast as she could towards the village. On the hill by the railway crossing she had to stop and gasp for breath, as her nervousness had drained her of her youthful energy. She placed the bucket on the ground and looked down from the bridge onto the rails below. A train came out of the tunnel under the bridge and disappeared in a black cloud of steam, chugging away towards Farnham. It seemed to Olive that the train was carrying her father’s life away from her.

Appalled at this thought, she grabbed the bucket, turned quickly and carried on up the hill. Along the brow of the hill, the branches of the young beech trees on either side met above the path, their intertwined branches forming a hollow tunnel. Mottled sunlight fell through the branches onto the path. The horses in the nearby field snorted softly as they grazed. In any other circumstances she would have stayed a while and enjoyed this lovely moment, but she ran on past Badshot Farm and down into the village to Bert Drysdale’s fishmonger’s shop.

Bert welcomed her with concern, as he could tell she was frantic. «’Allo Olive! What’s up with you then? ‘Ow’s Charlie?»

«He’s not well at all, Mr Drysdale. He keeps coughing and spitting blood,» answered Olive breathlessly. «Mother’s sent me to get some ice to ease his coughing and pain.»

«Sit down ‘ere, ducky,» said Bert. «Eve’s just made a pot of tea. You can ‘ave a cup while I fill up yer bucket.»

Olive took the tea gratefully. It was hot and sweet and did her good. She breathed deeply and squared her aching shoulders against the chairback. The strong smell of fish took her back to a holiday with the family when they had visited Aunt Mollie and Aunt Mary in Weymouth almost two years previously. As they approached West Bank House in Abbotsbury Road, little Olive had pulled on her father’s hand and held him back, for she was rather afraid of Aunt Mollie.

«Come on, Olive, it’s only dear old Mol and Mary, they won’t bite you!» he had said encouragingly, picking her up and giving her a hug. She had felt safe and protected, even managing a thin smile as Mol descended on her like a great black crow and greeted Olive with a grim face.

Absorbed in this memory, she had not noticed that Bert had returned to the shop with the bucket. He tapped her on the shoulder. «Olive?» Olive gave a start and turned to face him.

«Sorry, Mr Drysdale! I was miles away!»

«Yeah, so I noticed, deary. Off ‘ome with yer now! At least there’s clouds’ve come up – tha’ll stop the ice meltin’! Now you say ‘Get well soon’ to Charlie, and regards to the family from me ‘n Eve!»

Olive returned as quickly as she could to Bide’s Cottages. Charlie was still coughing painfully. Meggie thanked Olive, took the bucket from her and immediately started to make the compress for Charlie’s painful lungs. After she had applied it, he became quieter and soon fell into an exhausted sleep. Now Meggie could finally make soup for the family, who had not yet had any lunch. They had been thoroughly exhausted from all the suffering – it felt almost unbearable.

Charlie had suffered another two weeks before finding peace in death at the age of only 51. But now, lying awake in her bed and reliving the memory of her father’s suffering, Olive felt almost as exhausted as she had done a month ago.

3 The Nursery in Australia

The following evening, the family were gathered in the sitting room, trying to get used to the fact that there was no sound of coughing coming from the floor above. It was too quiet. Although it was good to know that Charlie no longer had to suffer, they all missed him dreadfully.

«You know, our emigration to Australia was all for the sake of your father’s lungs,» recounted Meggie. «We were living in Sunbury-on-Thames, not that far from here, in a nice house on the corner of Staines Street and Cadbury Street. Although it was called Southey Cottage, it was actually quite a large house. We even had a servant, a very capable lady. But I wasn’t used to servants, and I had to accustom myself to giving instructions. To begin with, I was very nervous about it, but she was a treasure and such a good cook. We could have been happy there, had your father not become sick after a very short time. In the autumn of 1883, our doctor recommended a warmer climate. That’s why we left in January 1884 to try our luck in the new world of Australia.»

«Had father already worked in a nursery when you were living in England?» asked Harry.

«Not a lot. He worked as an accountant at the Surbiton office. His father’s office-work was dealt with from there.

It was a good position for your father, and he earned well, which made it all the more difficult to leave it all behind and try something new. We didn’t really know what to expect, but your father already had every intention of carrying on his father’s business in Australia and growing roses.»

«But was he able to do that, if he’d only been an accountant up till then?» asked Blanche.

«Well, he’d watched his father attentively in the nursery, and he had learnt a lot. His experience of business at the Surbiton office also stood him in good stead, and he felt quite capable of running a nursery of his own. He was a good businessman and having always seen his father gardening, his knowledge was sufficient to start him off on the path to his own nursery.»

Harry smiled. «That’s true, – I know quite a lot about gardening as I always watched father in Australia and here in Surrey too, working with him for the same nursery.»

«Well yes,» answered Meggie, «but the difference was that your grandfather, already being an expert rose breeder in Stapleford, had plenty of time and opportunity to pass on his knowledge to your father and your Uncle Eddie, and he loved to expand on his methods. Your father never had the same opportunity to pass on his knowledge to you, because life in Australia was so hard and took up all his time and strength. He couldn’t do so here in Surrey either, because he was in employment, and not the master of his own time.»

«You’re right,» said Harry with a sheepish look, «I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to run a nursery of my own. How old were you and father then, when he started his rosegrowing in Australia?»

«Your father was 28 and I was 30. First of all, we lived in a house to the North of Sydney. Your father worked as a carpenter. You know how good he is … was … with wood.»

Meggie swallowed heavily. She had almost forgotten that Charlie was no longer with them. She regained her poise and continued: «Then he began grafting fruit trees for an orchard, until our house in Homebush was finished. We just about managed to get by on his wages.»

«You three are so lucky! I do wish I’d been there in Australia,» said Olive enviously.

«It wasn’t always so good, Olive, I can tell you. Life was hard – Harry and Blanche, you were there. You two know what it was like,» answered Meggie.

«Yes,» said Blanche, «But as you say, we were there, we experienced it. I can understand Olive’s wish to have been there too. I believe I’d feel the same.»

For a while they sat in companionable silence and stared into the flames crackling cozily in the fireplace. On this cool evening in September 1907, Australia seemed a long way off, yet Meggie was glad to allow her thoughts to fly back to the untroubled times they had had, as they set out on their adventurous trip through the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and then across the open seas to the new world of Australia. She began to relive that long journey in her mind’s eye.

4 Stormy Seas

Their journey to Australia began at the docks in Graves-end on 26th January 1884. It was inclement weather as Meggie and Charlie boarded the SS Chimboraza at 11am. The passengers were hurrying to get to their cabins, but some braved the weather and found themselves a place at the railing to watch as the ship left harbour and to wave to those watching from the quay. Mollie and Mary were amongst them, waving to Meggie and Charlie with white handkerchiefs. Meggie saw Mollie brushing away a tear, and Meggie’s eyes filled with tears too.

The ship encountered problems as it made ready to set sail. The crew were trying to weigh the anchor, but it refused to budge, which caused nervous tension amongst the passengers watching from the deck. As a last resort, the crew employed the derricks, and finally the anchor came free – crew and passengers cheered, and they were under way at last!

Going through the English Channel, the waves were many feet high and breaking over the deck. One wave came pouring over Meggie and Charlie standing at the railing in their waxed overcoats, and drenched them to the skin. Most of the passengers took refuge in their cabins, but Meggie and Charlie only laughed and stayed on deck a while longer. Meggie watched the seagulls which appeared to be hung up in the air as they soared on the wind. After a while the weather became too much even for Meggie and Charlie, so they went down to their cabin and changed into dry clothes. Charlie was by now feeling quite unwell. His face was white. Meggie cupped his face in her hands and stroked his brow. He had obviously fallen victim to seasickness, which was to plague him for quite a while.

Waves continued to break over the foredeck all night long. The next morning, the crew were busy with mops cleaning up the flooded saloon, as the waves had come in through an open skylight. Meggie went to breakfast at eight o’clock, but Charlie was not feeling up to eating. There was good food in abundance, a variety of meats and on Sunday eggs too. Meggie was quite shocked to see the way some of the passengers were grabbing as much food as they could and mentioned the fact to Charlie when she returned to the cabin.

«It takes all sorts, Meg!» replied Charlie, «And there is a certain percentage of pigs in all communities.»

The first Sunday, there was no church service, as the sea was too rough. The ship sailed approximately 100 sea miles on that day. In the Bay of Biscay, the Southwesterly wind blew even stronger than before. The movement of the ship became more pronounced, making almost all passengers seasick apart from Meggie and a couple of other gentlemen with good sealegs. Meggie thought of her father, a master mariner and ship owner who would certainly have had good sea-legs. Maybe she had inherited her seaworthiness from him. The waves were now so high that many passengers began to fear for their lives. Charlie became so sick that he nearly fainted and could hardly lift his head from the pillow. Meggie was unable to help him other than to keep him company and to stroke his brow tenderly.

Only Meggie and the seaworthy gentlemen made an appearance at supper. However, after this, the weather improved a little. Charlie now had a slight appetite so, in the evening, he and Meggie went up to the bar, where they treated themselves to an expensive drink, and where complementary cheese and biscuits were being served. Charlie bought an expensive bottle of port wine, then they went down to their cabin, climbed into Charlie’s bottom bunk and lay in a satisfied embrace. As the storm had subsided, they were now able to hear the steam-powered steering apparatus which was frequently being applied.

«Oh God! What a dreadful noise! It sounds just like a horse floundering across the deck!» moaned Charlie. Meggie had to laugh, as that was exactly what it sounded like; an unbearable rumpus. As it happened every few seconds, they were continually being torn from their sleep. The ship’s main steam engines did not disturb them so much, as they pulsated regularly.

Next morning, feeling quite unrefreshed, Meggie and Charlie went up on deck. It was a lovely clear day. They stood for a while at the railing, huddled close together and looking out towards the horizon. Charlie spotted a large homeward bound clipper about two miles off, going at full speed. About half a dozen porpoises came alongside the Chimboraza and kept up a good pace with the ship for some time. It was wonderful to watch them leaping, and it seemed to Meggie as if they were playing with the ship.

So far, the Chimboraza had been going relatively slowly, but now the engines put on speed. The ship was rolling considerably, so two sails were set to keep her a little steadier. Nobody could even think of remaining on deck in these conditions. The sea became so rough that Meggie and Charlie kept all their clothes on at night in case of shipwreck. With such rocking, they would have been unable to undress anyway.

For a further two days, Charlie remained in the cabin and ate nothing but a few dry biscuits. On the third day, Meggie mixed a raw egg with some port wine and administered this mixture to Charlie at lunchtime. This strengthened him, and he slowly began to feel a little better.

«Thank heaven we brought these eggs on board!» said Meggie. «I laughed at Mollie for forcing the eggs onto us, but now I’m really grateful for them.»

They went up on deck and saw that in the meantime, they had already passed through the Bay of Biscay. Although the wind was still blowing and the ship still rolling, Charlie could feel that the seasickness had finally left him. Before supper he took a little beef broth. He decided to try going to dinner with Meggie and even ate a little, after which they spent the evening sitting in the saloon. That night, Meggie and Charlie were once again able to undress and get to bed properly. They lay gratefully in each others’ arms, now that there was no longer any danger of shipwreck.

5 Mediterranean Moods

The passengers were very relieved that the sea had finally become calmer. Now they had more leisure in which to observe their fellow passengers. At table with Meggie and Charlie were a brother and sister from Bradford by the name of Woodhead, a friendly man from Northampton, a homeward bound Australian and a very slatternly Scot whom the Australian called ‘Lord Douglas’ and who shovelled the food into his mouth with his fork in a most unsavoury manner.

Meggie and Charlie began to spend their days on deck in the deckchairs provided. Sometimes they just sat there holding hands and looking out to sea; sometimes they took a novel up with them and read for many hours on end.

Some of the men, including Charlie, took part in various deck sports which had been conceived to keep the passengers out of mischief. Deck tennis was the most popular, but any number of balls went overboard. There were even races run around the deck, but Charlie did not go in for them. Deck quoits also offered the ladies an opportunity to partake in the sports, for which they used rings made of rope and mobile targets of short poles on stands. In this way, the days passed by pleasantly enough even when there was no land in sight.

Most of the passengers spent the evenings in the saloon, where they were ‘entertained’ by a couple of old maids whom Charlie called ‘Moody and Parky’. ‘Moody’ sang hymns and ‘Parky’ accompanied her on the piano. As Parky obviously had no talent as a pianist, these entertainments were a sad imposition upon their fellow passengers, and Charlie resolved to put an end to them. In the middle of the hymn ‘Eternal Father strong to save / whose arm doth bind the restless wave’ he approached the couple and whispered something first in Moody’s ear, then to Parky. The ladies immediately broke off their performance in the middle of a verse, gathered up their music with offended faces and hurried away from the piano.

Meggie gave Charlie a mischievous smile as he returned to his seat. «What on earth did you say to them?» she asked in mock horror, although she was really very proud of his courage.

«I merely told them in the nicest possible manner that all the other passengers were suffering from their noise and getting a terrible earache,» said Charlie with a look of pure innocence. The Woodheads, who were sitting with them, laughed out loud, and Meggie and Charlie joined in the laughter.

«You’ve made enemies for life there!» said Anne Woodhead with an amused smile.

«Oh, I’ll gladly put up with that!» answered Charlie cheerfully. «I believe I’ve won the favour of all the other passengers.»

Along the Portuguese coast next morning, the sky was cloudy to begin with, but it soon brightened up. The sea became calm and smooth as glass. With a light Southwesterly wind, the ship was only rolling very gently. Several steamers and a large sailing ship passed them by. In the afternoon, the Chimboraza was steaming along off Sintra, where they could see high hills covered with cork trees.

At supper, Parky recounted in a loud voice to her tablemates, but so that the whole room could hear it, that she had taken a fall that day, sliding all across the wet deck and hurting herself very badly. She complained that she could now only take bread and butter, which she was not capable of spreading. Lord Douglas took a piece of bread in his dirty fingers, spread it thickly with butter and passed it over to Parky in his fingers. Parky looked with horror at his hand, took the piece of bread with a strained smile and holding it at arm’s length, placed it on her plate with her fingertips. Both tables were suppressing their laughter – Charlie transformed a snorting laugh into a cough. Parky’s accident meant that she could now come to the saloon that evening with dignity, as she was physically unable to play the piano. Her fellow passengers were just grateful to be free of Moody and Parky hymns, no matter what the reason!

After dark, the Chimboraza passed the Straits of Gibraltar. The amount of steamer traffic was impressive. The passengers could see the lights of the town of Gibraltar, but they were disappointed that they could barely distinguish the outline of the Rock of Gibraltar to their port side in the dark. To starboard they saw the lights of the North African town of Tangiers. The sight of the many phosphorescent jellyfish on the surface of the water was quite mystical.

Then they were in Mediterranean waters. The sea was very calm all day, the sun as warm as in summer, and everyone was in good spirits. The ship was now so steady that the fenders could be dispensed with for the first time since leaving Gravesend. The passengers recovered from the strains of the Bay of Biscay in the deckchairs. Charlie had managed to procure a sea chart from the purser, with the help of which he could follow their route. From time to time, he showed Meggie exactly where they were. The ship passed too far from the Spanish coast to see anything of it; only once were they able to see a rocky cliff-face from a distance.

Charlie had completely regained his appetite and was making up for lost meals by eating like a horse. The daily dose of port wine with raw egg had helped him back to health after only a few days. His chest no longer hurt and he therefore also required no further medication. Meggie was grateful, and relished the period of untroubled, sensual intimacy with her beloved husband.

On Sunday morning, the ship lay before Sardinia. After breakfast there was a church service led by an English vicar, for which the first-class saloon was full. Meggie accompanied the hymns on the piano. After the service, a few of the passengers made plans to have a concert on Tuesday evening, once again with Meggie at the piano.

Charlie warned Meggie: «I’ll eat my hat if this concert doesn’t lead to more bickering.»

«Oh, without a doubt!» answered Meggie, «the same as with everything else on this ship! We passengers just don’t have enough to occupy ourselves, so we start bickering at the slightest thing!»

As predicated, the arguments already started at rehearsal. The tenor accused the soprano of singing too loudly in a certain bar, to which she countered bitchily: «Just because you have no power in your voice, you expect me to suppress mine? No, no, my good man! You’ll have to sing more strongly. This bar definitely has to be sung forte!»

Thus it continued the whole morning, but finally the concert took place and Charlie confirmed to Meggie afterwards that it had been as mediocre as he had expected. However, it had at least given the passengers something to do for another evening.

On Monday morning, 4th February, they reached Naples. The passengers were in the middle of their breakfast when they were informed that the tenders were shortly due to leave, taking the passengers to the quay. They all rushed away to get ready, so that the corridors and deck were amass with jostling crowds. Meggie and Charlie quickly donned their coats and managed to catch the first tender.

Meggie lifted her skirts, extended a leg, and supported by Charlie, took the first step upon solid ground in nine days. She linked arms with Charlie, and together they walked over the narrow boardwalk to the quay.

«Oh my goodness! Can you feel it too, Charlie? The ground’s moving like the sea!» exclaimed Meggie in surprise. She held on tightly to her husband, who did indeed also feel the sensation of the ground rolling.

Nearby, Meggie and Charlie found a small open carriage with gaily decorated horses, and with a guide who luckily spoke French and even a little English. They first drove to the agent where they could pick up post from Mollie and a newspaper from Salisbury. The guide then took them round the main sights of the town: two churches with confessionals that looked like horse boxes; the cathedral with holy relics such as finger bones and a thorn from the Crown of Thorns; the museum containing artefacts from Pompeii; then a gallery where artists were copying pictures for sale to tourists, and from whom Charlie bought two oil paintings, one of Madonna and one of Christ. They had almost to run around all these sights, as they only had three hours on land. However, there was still time to have a bite to eat, and the guide took them to a nice little restaurant where they had fried fish with Italian wine, followed by a sweet omelette with oranges and apples.

The carriage brought them back to the harbour just in time for the last tender. From the tender, they looked back for a quick view of the volcano Vesuvius. Once they were all on board, the anchor was lifted and the ship steamed on towards Port Said.

6 In Warmer Waters

The weather remained bright, but a cold Easterly wind had arisen, so the passengers donned their winter coats and caps. The ship was once again lurching considerably.

Shortly before lunchtime on 9th February, everyone was relieved to see Port Said before the bows, where the ship took on coal. Port Said turned out to be a miserable, filthy place, although Charlie did find the Arabian Quarter interesting. Port Said was built upon a sandbank. Apart from a few scraggy trees in the so-called park, there was no vegetation to speak of. However, Meggie was at least able to buy sweet oranges from Cairo. The couple dined at a romantic little restaurant on the quay, but returned to the Chimboraza at 6.30pm as they felt unsafe in the town after dark.

Next morning, Charlie was still in a deep sleep when Meggie left the cabin early and went up on deck. She found herself a place at the railing and watched as the Chimboraza entered the Suez Canal at 6am. There was now a French pilot in charge of the ship. Whenever the ships had to pass each other, one of the ships was tied up to a large pole at a crossing station. At one station, a man-of-war was lying diagonally across the Canal, and the Chimboraza came uncomfortably close to it. The canal was quite a miserable looking ditch. It ran between high sandbanks, so there was nothing to see but sand, water and a little scrub. In many places, the sandbanks had collapsed and had been unsatisfactorily patched with clay bricks which had not even been fired. In the Great Bitter Lake, the Chimboraza was finally able to overtake the large man-of-war that they had almost touched earlier. They finally arrived in Port Suez on Sunday towards lunchtime, where they were able to pick up a further letter from Mollie.

More coal was taken on at Aden, then yet another load at the island of Diego Garcia. In the Indian Ocean it became much warmer. Most of the passengers were now only lightly dressed and spent their days in the deckchairs – Meggie found Charlie very handsome in his white flannel suit. Some passengers were even sleeping on deck. As there was only one bathroom per passenger department, there was always a scramble to use one of the salt baths. Charlie loved to bathe, finding the water just right. When his turn finally came, his exultant singing could be heard from the corridor outside the bathroom.

Inwardly, the passengers started to steel themselves for the long journey from the island of Diego Garcia to Adelaide. The Chimboraza would be on the high seas for a good two weeks, during which time the passengers would see nothing more interesting than a ship passing now and then on the horizon. Some feared that this would drive them crazy, and they became particularly nervous when they spotted a ship wrecked on one of the islands!

The heat was quite getting to Meggie, so she went down to their cabin, undressed completely and reclined on Charlie’s bunk. But when Charlie came down and climbed into the bunk next to her, she became even more hot and sticky and went back up to the saloon to read. With her light complexion and her red-blonde hair she could not take the sun, and her arms had already freckled, even through the sleeves of her muslin dress, whilst the skin around her collar was red and burnt.

During this long stretch of the journey, Meggie gave her husband the happy news that she was expecting a child! The ship’s doctor had already confirmed her suspicion. Charlie was overjoyed and kissed his wife lovingly. Before supper, they both went up to the bar and ordered a bottle of champagne which they shared with the Woodheads. The search for a name for their child occupied Meggie and Charlie pleasantly for quite a few days, and time suddenly seemed to fly.

Towards the end of February, they finally sighted land again. Meggie was grateful to reach Adelaide and disembark from the ship, as she was now feeling quite poorly, but not from the movement of the sea – it was morning sickness from her pregnancy. At St Johns they saw a brightly-painted row of bathing huts on St Kilda’s Beach, before the Chimboraza drew into the narrow strait leading to Port Adelaide. Meggie and Charlie disembarked via the gangplank with their arms around each other, and went off to explore their new home country for the first time.

The last two days were spent in a whirlwind of packing and preparation and passed very quickly. Once Sydney came in sight, there was much leave-taking in the corridors and on deck, and everyone seemed to be hurrying backwards and forwards. The deckchairs were now almost always empty. Charlie filled a large wooden crate with their heaviest things which he packed in woollen blankets. The crate was nailed shut and addressed to their rental accommodation at Gordon.

In Sydney, a band was playing to welcome the ship, and the waiting relatives threw coloured streamers up to the decks of the ship. The agent who had rented them the house in Gordon, 15 miles away on the North coast of Sydney, had arranged for a carriage to pick them up and take them there.

Perryville turned out to be a huge bungalow in a grand style, for which they had to pay the princely sum of ten shillings a month. There were already a few pieces of furniture in the house, and more was to be sent over by Charlie’s father, including Meggie’s piano. Meggie walked slowly round the house, awed by the size of the rooms which seemed almost like halls, being almost empty.

«Oh Charlie!» she exclaimed, «Perryville’s far too large for us, it’s out of all proportion for our needs!»

7 The New Homeland

Meggie felt a repeated tug at her sleeve.

«Mother, you fell asleep and you’ve been snoring! Look, you’ve dropped your glasses,» said Blanche.

«Oh dear, I’m sorry. I was miles away. It’s so cozy here by the fire.» Meggie sat up straight and picked her glasses up off the floor.

«What’s Perryville, mother?» asked Blanche.

«Perryville? Why?» asked Meggie.

«Well, you were talking in your sleep,» explained Blanche, «And you said ‘Perryville’s far too large for us’.»

«Perryville – oh, I see. Well, Perryville was our first rented house in Sydney. We intended to live there until our house in Homebush was finished. In the warmth of the fire I started day-dreaming about our journey out to Australia. Then I must have dropped off completely.»

«Oh mother, please tell us all about arriving in Australia and how everything started!» begged Olive with glowing eyes. She really soaked up any information about the life of her family prior to her birth.

«Yes, please, mother, we’d like to hear that too!» chimed in Blanche and Harry together.

So Meggie settled herself comfortably in her armchair, laying her glasses on the table at her elbow. How Charlie’s health had improved once they reached Australia! At last he seemed to find real strength and vitality. Meggie found it comforting to remember the years spent happily with her husband, although she feared she might be reduced to tears now and then. But perhaps that was not such a bad thing – within the intimate circle of her family.

She began the story of their lives in Australia. «Perryville was our home for the first seven months after our arrival. The house looked directly onto the Pacific. It was beautiful, but the area is expensive and yes, Perryville really was far too large for us, out of all proportion. We were looking forward to the arrival of our first child, but that would mean even more expense. Your father was jobbing to provide for us, first as a carpenter for 7s/6d a day. Then he found a temporary job in a nursery, where he grafted fruit trees. That job was much more strenuous than the carpentry, but there he was at least earning 10 shillings a day. We had bought some livestock, poultry and pigs, which together with the housework kept me occupied while I waited for our baby to arrive.

My sister, Aunt Minnie Daniel, sent me a first beautiful stock of children’s clothes from England, but they were not at all suited to the hard life we led in Australia – far too good! She also sent a few light counterpanes for which we were very grateful as the weather became colder towards mid-July. You know, it was still cheaper to have things sent from England than to buy them in Australia, even after paying the carriage! And of course they were of better quality too.

The wooden crate with our things had been sent on from the ship and had finally arrived. Mollie had sewn some very neat, pretty flannel shirts for your father and me, which she had sent out to us in a parcel. We needed to buy some items of furniture: a four-poster bed for ourselves, a small single bed for visitors, a few pig’s basins for the yard, a looking glass, six chairs, some crockery and saucepans, but no tables or washstands. We made do with boxes until your father had time to make some.

I made some very good friends on the North Coast, who helped me in all manner of ways. The gardener’s wife offered to look after me at my confinement, as the doctor charged 7 guineas a visit, and might even have refused to come out to me. Wasn’t that kind of her, as they were quite poor people? I offered to pay her, but she wouldn’t accept money. Not many people would have taken the trouble to have helped in that way. In general, people have to support one another in a country like Australia where life is so hard, otherwise they just wouldn’t get by!

We then found a little cottage with only two rooms for only 5 shillings a week, which was much better suited to our needs. It was also in Gordon, but not right on the ocean. In the meantime, my piano had arrived, so I was able to play in the long hours when your father was at work. He started at the nursery around a quarter to 8am and often didn’t return home until almost 10 or 11pm.»

«What!» exclaimed Olive, «Did he work such long hours?»

«Yes,» continued Meggie. «It really wasn’t an easy life. Your father seemed healthy and fairly contented, but I could tell he couldn’t wait to start his own nursery at Homebush!»

«Why did you have to wait? Why couldn’t you go and live there straight away?» asked Harry.