The Factory Girls of Lark Lane: A heartbreaking World War 2 historical novel of loss and love

by Howes, Pam

  Another thing Alice had noticed was that since Mam had been told about the baby she hadn’t complained of feeling off-colour as much and seemed to have a new spring in her step. Alice was also surprised, but happy, by how well Mam and her mother-in-law got along. It was a good thing for them all as she would need help from the pair when she had the baby and was ready to go back to work. And that was another thing on her mind. Would Rootes allow her to remain in their employ? They seemed to prefer women who didn’t have the responsibility of children at home. Most of the mothers who worked there either had sons in the forces or younger children who were evacuated out of danger, and could work extra hours as and when they were needed.

  There was a possibility she would have to look for another job. But there was ages to go before she needed to think about that anyway. She settled into her seat as the organist stopped playing and he and the Compton sank from view. The lights dimmed and the Pathé news came on.

  It wasn’t the best news and there was nothing much to cheer them up. Film clips of planes and the destruction in and around London and other cities, including their own; but then a clip of several Halifax bombers above the skies of Liverpool made them smile and Alice and Millie gave a little cheer.

  The munitions team were a subdued bunch of workers since the accident and there was now a morning jewellery inspection for each girl. Not that anyone would dare since witnessing first-hand the serious consequences of flouting the rules. The Halifax girls were also checked and even the wearing of a wedding ring was now forbidden, just in case anyone had to go up to the munitions floor with a message. Alice kept her ring in her purse and stored it away in her handbag in the locker while she was working. She hated not wearing it; it hadn’t left her hand since Terry had slipped it on, but there wasn’t a choice, and after losing Josie, it was a small price to pay. Avril was still in hospital and likely to remain there for many months. Elsie visited her each Friday evening, but said there was little response from her and she just spent the hour chatting to Avril’s mother to pass the time.

  The team were turning out planes at a great speed and as fast as one was handed over to the RAF another was nearing completion, following a similar pattern in factories up and down the country. There was hardly a minute to breathe in each busy day, and apart from breaks and the regular air raid warnings, the time flew by. Alice’s mam greeted her each night with a newspaper full of reports about how many tons of bombs had been dropped on the major cities. Places with ports seemed to be the worst hit and Liverpool’s dockside was always under threat.

  Terry’s latest letter had worried Alice when he’d told her not to be too upset if she didn’t hear from him for a while as letters were taking ages to get through and the replies home took even longer, waiting to be picked up from the camps for posting. All letters were vetted and no locations of platoons were to be given away in case they fell into enemy hands. Alice was aware of the slogan ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships’. Terry reassured her that she was in his thoughts every waking minute and he couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms again. She slept with the letter under her pillow at night to comfort her.

  The first week of May brought the worst attacks Liverpool had experienced and night after night the air raid sirens wailed almost continuously. Alice felt weary from spending more time in the shelters than out of them. Work was halted at Rootes on numerous occasions as the workforce downed tools and hurried into their shelters.

  Mam arrived home from work following her afternoon shift, most of which had been spent sheltering with Teresa, the newsagent’s wife, while her husband was out on ARP duties, and threw a copy of The Times on the table.

  ‘Just read that. It’s getting more ridiculous by the day. I don’t know what’s to become of us all. There were no copies of the Echo left today. They all went first thing. Everybody wants the latest to see exactly which areas of the city have suffered the most.’

  The Times’s front page carried the following report: ‘The Germans stated that Saturday night’s attack on Liverpool was one of the heaviest ever made by their air force on Britain. Several hundred bombers had been used, visibility was good and docks and industrial works, storehouses and business centres had been hit. In addition to many smaller fires, one conflagration, it was claimed, was greater than any hitherto observed during a night attack.’

  ‘I don’t know what they mean by that last bit,’ Mam said, frowning. ‘Them toffs in London don’t speak proper English like what we do up here, but it sounds bad, doesn’t it? They’re right about Saturday night though, it was shocking. We must have been in that shelter for hours listening to them planes flying low overhead. We’re lucky we’ve still got a house to call home. An ARP warden told us today that loads of streets down by the docks are flattened and many of the tenements as well. It’s a damn good job all those kiddies are out of the way. There have been a lot of people killed but they don’t seem able to put a number on it just yet. I suppose as they clear the rubble they’ll find more bodies. It’s terrible. The cathedral’s been hit and a lot of the stained glass windows and parts of the roof are damaged. A big ship down the docks full of munitions and ready to go to the lads abroad got hit too and exploded all over the show. And it’s a good job Terry’s mam got the baby’s pram when she did. That woman must have second sight. There’s not much left of Lewis’s, and Blacklers got hit as well. The buggers have nearly wiped Liverpool off the map. I hope they rot in hell.’

  ‘What about the Three Graces?’ Alice asked. ‘I hope to God they are okay. Those lovely buildings are the first thing people see when the ships are approaching Liverpool. They’re special to us all.’

  ‘As far as I know they’re safe. Teresa’s hubby gives us all the news first-hand about what’s gone on when he comes off his watch and he didn’t say anything about the Graces.’

  Alice shook her head. ‘It’s never-ending. I hope Mrs Lomax is okay. Have you seen her this week, Mam? I feel I should go round but I’m that tired when I get home from work, and this little devil wriggles all day and night and keeps me awake, never mind the air raids.’ She patted her bump gently.

  ‘She hasn’t been in for her magazine this week yet, but I’m sure she’ll be okay, chuck. I’d ask the paperboy to give her a knock but his mother sent him away to his auntie’s in the country once the bombing got really bad and we’ve no one to replace him.’

  Alice nodded. ‘I’ll pop over at the weekend if I can. Let’s have something to eat now before the sirens go off again, as no doubt they will do. I’m going to make a flask of tea as well, just in case they do, so we’ve got something to drink at least.’

  One Saturday morning, at the end of May, a telegram was delivered with the news that no household wanted to hear. Alice’s brother Rodney was missing in action. Alice held her mam while she sobbed against her shoulder.

  ‘Mam, he might be okay. Missing isn’t the same as, well, you know, is it? Maybe he’s been taken prisoner, or he’s in a hospital and they’re not sure who he is, or something. You hear it all the time on the news and see it in the papers.’ She waited for Mam’s sobs to subside, tears rolling down her own cheeks. ‘He’ll come home one day, I’m sure he will.’

  Mam looked up and shook her head. ‘How can you be so positive?’

  ‘Because we have no choice, Mam. We have to keep going, believing he’s all right.’

  ‘I want our Brian back.’ Mam got to her feet. ‘I can’t bear this. I need him here with me.’

  Alice shook her head. ‘No, Mam, you can’t do that. Leave him where we know he’s safe. People are getting killed all the time here. Brian is being well looked after and he’s away from the dangers he’d face in Liverpool. You wouldn’t want him to get injured. You’d never forgive yourself. Why don’t you go and see him? His evacuee family invited you to go at any time.’

  Mam stared out of the window, her lips pursed in a straight line. ‘I can’t go away. I can’t leave you in your condition. What if something happened? And what if the
y bring another telegram about Rodney?’

  ‘I’ll be all right, Mam. I daresay I can always go and stay with Terry’s mam if I feel I need to. If you want to go and see Brian, I’ll be fine. And if another telegram arrives I can phone the post office in the village where Brian’s staying and get a message to you somehow. Please have a think about it. It will do you good to spend some time with him. I bet he’s really missing you, even though he makes out he’s okay. He’s only a little boy and sometimes I bet he really needs his mam.’

  10

  August 1941

  Alice’s mam’s eventual stay for a couple of weeks with Brian’s evacuee family had extended to over two months due to Brian being taken ill with scarlet fever and anyone in contact with him being quarantined for several weeks. Alice had moved into Terry’s old bedroom in her mother-in-law’s bungalow. She was enjoying being looked after and looking forward to finishing work for a few months. She’d carried on for a few extra weeks but was ready to put her feet up now. All the stuff she needed for her baby was in place at the bungalow. Mrs Lomax and her neighbour had knitted enough little jackets to last a lifetime, along with booties and hats. Her family home had been locked up until her mam was allowed home. There’d been panic in Mam’s voice when they’d spoken on a very crackly phone line about leaving her alone to cope, but Alice had assured her that she was just fine.

  As she set out to meet Millie at the bus stop for her last day at work, she popped a letter in the post-box for her mam, along with a birthday card for her youngest brother. She’d put a ten-shilling note in with the card and told him to treat himself to anything he liked when he was well enough to go out again. He’d love that, spending his own money. It would go a long way, knowing how thrifty her little brother was when he had any pocket money.

  Millie was already at the bus stop, sitting on a nearby garden wall, as Alice arrived.

  ‘Was there any news on your Rodney yesterday?’ she asked.

  Alice had popped in to her home each day before walking back to Terry’s mam’s to check for post.

  ‘Nothing. No news is good news on that score though. Haven’t heard from Terry for over a week either.’

  ‘I’ve had nothing from Jimmy lately. Think it’s just hard for them to get anything out of Europe at the moment.’

  Alice sighed. ‘I’m terrified every time we listen to the news. Terry’s mam insists we have it on every night after tea. The Germans have taken Soviet prisoners of war to a gas chamber in a place called Auschwitz and killed them all, according to last night’s news, and they’re said to be rounding up Jewish people too. What if they’re holding our Rodney and other British soldiers? How would we know until it’s too late? I don’t think I can stand any more of this. So much for the war being over soon. It just gets worse with each passing day. At least my mam and our Brian are safe enough for now.’

  Millie squeezed her arm. ‘Here’s the bus. Let’s get your last day out of the way and hope we can get through it without too many incidents.’

  When the first break bell rang, Alice put down her riveting gun on the bench and placed her hands each side of her aching back. She took a deep breath as her baby took a hefty kick at her ribs.

  ‘Ouch! Little bugger,’ she muttered, getting to her feet. ‘I suppose you want your toast, do you?’

  ‘Talking to yourself again, Alice,’ Freddie teased. ‘Have you got a minute? You go on down, Millie. Save Alice some toast.’

  Millie smiled as Freddie gave her a wink that Alice missed.

  Alice followed Freddie to the window. He pulled out a chair for her to sit on.

  ‘I just wanted to let you know that if you plan on returning to work after you’ve had the nipper, we’d be more than happy to see you back here with us,’ Freddie said. ‘Now I know it won’t be for a few months, but if it helps you out and you can get your own and Terry’s mam to help with baby-minding then the job is still yours.’

  ‘Oh, well that’s good to know. Thank you. I’m sure they will pull their weight. We need my wages. Mam can still do her bit at the newsagent’s when it’s Mrs Lomax’s turn to mind the baby. They can fight it out between them. I won’t get a sniff in until Terry is home and we’re back to normal, whatever that is these days. Thank you, Freddie. You’ve taken a weight off my mind.’

  ‘Good. Let’s hope you get some more news about Rodney soon, eh?’ He gave Alice a hug. ‘Let’s go and get that tea and toast before they scoff the lot.’

  As Alice and Freddie walked into the canteen a cheer went up and everyone began to clap. Alice looked around in amazement. The staff had decorated the place with balloons and bright-coloured crepe paper streamers. In the centre of the room a table was laid with a white cloth, and a stack of gaily wrapped parcels sat on it.

  ‘For me?’ Alice clapped a hand to her mouth. ‘Oh my goodness, so that’s why you kept me talking, Freddie.’

  ‘Well you didn’t think you’d get away without some sort of celebration, did you?’ Freddie laughed and gave her a hug.

  Millie came and took her hand and led her to the table, where a mug of tea waited along with a plate of toast.

  ‘And look.’ She pointed to a small jar. ‘We’ve even managed to get a pot of WI jam for the occasion. Get stuck in and then you can open your pressies.’

  By the end of the afternoon shift Alice was in agony. Her back was killing her and had been all afternoon. All she wanted to do was get home to Mrs Lomax’s and lie in a hot bath, all regulation six inches of it. But it was better than nothing. Along with Millie she changed out of her work clothes and pulled on her skirt and smock-top. As she bent to slip on her shoes the wail of an air raid siren sounded.

  ‘Oh for crying out loud,’ Alice moaned. ‘I don’t bloody believe it.’ She grabbed her cardigan, handbag, gas mask and Millie’s arm and followed the other women out of the building. The bus was already waiting to take them home but Freddie ushered the driver into the shelter along with everyone else.

  ‘Here, sit down,’ Millie said, helping her onto a bench. ‘Take the weight off your feet. You look weary.’

  ‘I am.’ Alice felt like crying. ‘My back is aching so badly.’ She stopped as a pain gripped her around the middle. ‘Ouch.’ She bent forward and groaned. ‘Oh no, no, no!’

  ‘What?’ Millie asked. ‘Oh God, Alice, not here.’ She looked around, wild-eyed as Alice doubled over again. ‘Help, someone. I think Alice’s baby is coming.’

  ‘Bloody hell!’ Freddie exclaimed, running to their side. ‘Now don’t panic, it takes ages, Alice. The raid’ll be over before you get started properly. Marlene, get yourself over here, gel.’

  Marlene puffed her way across the shelter as all eyes turned to Alice. ‘Right, Freddie, you take the men away over there an’, girls,’ she addressed their fellow workers, ‘make yourselves into a wall to keep ’er private. Now, Alice, we’ve all ’ad babies other than you and Millie. First ones take ages so I’m sure you’ll be tucked up safe in ’ospital by the time this little ’un shows its face, but let’s get you comfortable for now.’

  She pointed to the blankets on another bench. Millie spread them out and she and Marlene helped Alice to lie down, using another couple of folded blankets to support her head.

  Alice let out another groan and gripped Millie by the hand. ‘Oh God, it hurts.’

  ‘Take a couple of deep breaths an’ try and relax,’ Marlene advised. ‘Next time you get a pain, pant along with it like the midwives showed you at the clinic an’ grip mine an’ Millie’s ’ands. That’s it,’ she encouraged. ‘That’s the way.’

  Alice cried out as another pain racked her body. She turned fear-filled eyes towards Marlene.

  ‘It’s too early. I’m not due for another month according to the midwife.’

  ‘What do they know,’ Marlene scoffed. ‘All them charts an’ calendars they go off. This is an ’oneymoon baby so it’ll come when it’s ready, not when they say it should.’ Marlene’s brow furrowed as she did a quick count on he
r fingers and nodded. ‘See, most of last December to now is eight months give or take a week or two. It’s not far off full-term, Alice. It’ll be fine, chuck, you mark my words. We could do with some ’ot water and clean towels though. I think we’re going to need them,’ she said as Alice cried out again. ‘The contractions are coming in fast now. Fred,’ she yelled over her shoulder. ‘Any chance of nipping back inside to get some water an’ towels, this little ’un will need them, an’ a pair of scissors, just in case. I can’t ’ear any planes or bombs going off just yet. If you was quick, like.’

  ‘Leave it with me,’ Freddie called back. ‘Nobody else move,’ he instructed and dashed away. He was back within minutes with a kettle that had boiled just as the warning went off and a handful of clean tea towels from the kitchen. He’d also grabbed a mixing bowl, and a pair of scissors that he’d shoved in his pocket.

  Millie took them from him. ‘Thanks Fred.’

  ‘Do you think it’s gonna happen soon?’ he asked, a worried frown on his face.

  Millie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I thought these things took ages, but Marlene seems to know what she’s doing.’

  ‘Right,’ he said, backing away. ‘I’ll leave it with you good ladies. Shout if you need anything,’ he said as the drone of enemy aircraft sounded overhead.

  ‘I think some prayers wouldn’t go amiss,’ Millie said as a loud explosion sounded nearby. ‘I hope that’s missed the factory building. All those explosives in there.’

  Marlene poured the hot water into the mixing bowl and dropped the scissors in. ‘That’ll sterilise them a bit,’ she muttered as Alice looked horrified. ‘Don’t worry, chuck, they’re not for cutting you. They’re to cut the cord if the baby arrives soon. Does anybody ’ave a ribbon, or anything really thin that I can use to be going on with?’ she asked.