Marriages are Made in Bond Street
Page 28
15. Leslie M, a tall, very slim, country-loving headmaster of forty-six who was about to be ordained, was registered in November 1947. He was classified as a ‘nice-looking Gent’, and met several young women before marrying Ruth W, a tall, slim, ‘nice-looking Lady’ of thirty-six, an almoner with private and earned income, daughter of a clergyman. He sought a wife aged between thirty and forty, who was not stout, had some income and was happy to pool resources.
16. Ruth W registered in February 1949, seeking a normal-sized, well-educated gentleman aged thirty-six to fifty. Leslie’s registration number, 1095, was written on her index card as a good introduction, and they married in September that year.
17. A thirty-two-year-old greaser in the Merchant Navy, Malcolm C’s labourer father and housewife mother had emigrated to Australia when he was a child, probably soon after the First World War. Keen on family life, he sought a blonde wife willing to settle in Australia, have children and not want to go dancing. The interviewer classified him as ‘Working Class’ and immediately gave him introductions.
18. Doris G was earning a reasonable post-war salary working for the Control Commission in Germany. At the age of thirty she was getting too old to become a mother, and made it clear that a husband must want children. He should also earn at least twice as much as she, be of a similar religion, not more than ten years older, well made, perhaps a business man living far away from depressing England.
19. Unmarried herself, Dorothy Harbottle’s mission in life was to find husbands and wives for others. Despite being an incurable chain-smoker, she lived into her eighties, remained unceasingly devoted to the Marriage Bureau, and entertained new secretaries and interviewers with stories of her match-making.
20. Post-war shortages of fuel affected rich and poor alike. Clients often asked for a spouse in possession of something they themselves lacked: a house, furniture, a car, enough money.
21. As advised by Counsel, the Bureau’s registration form became more detailed and formal. The newly formed company ‘Marriages Ltd’ was added. Applicants were asked to give their source of income, education and father’s profession, and to sign a declaration. ‘Requirements’ remained basic.
22. In this 1949 magazine article Heather listed her ten ‘matching-point essentials’, starting with: 1. Social position. (Includes upbringing, education, social ambitions or lack of them. Women often show strong preference for certain professions – e.g. schoolmaster, doctor, business man, etc.). 2. Income. (A close second.). 3. Religion. (A bad third.).
23. Passers-by in Bond Street could comfortably read the other signs at number 124 and slip up to the second floor without feeling conspicuous. A nervous person would quickly be reassured by the businesslike yet sympathetic manner of the interviewer. Here, Heather helps a tentative young woman fill in her registration form.
24. The final pages of a small brochure compiled by Mary Oliver to explain the Marriage Bureau. The match-makers were always adamant that the Bureau’s approach was practical but that ‘their’ marriages were based not only on sound principles but also on love.
25. The Bureau’s card indexes were a vital source of information. When a couple were suited, their cards were firmly stapled together and filed separately. They were ‘off’ (though some returned after their Bureau husband or wife died).
First published 2016 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2017 by Pan Books
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ISBN 978-1-4472-8261-7
Copyright © Penrose Halson 2016
Cover Images © Trevillion Images
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