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Many people in the 1940's relied heavily on purchasing items on the 'Never-Never' and Bob Margetson's parents were no exception:-
I remember Easter of 1948. I was 10 years old and my brother George was five. We were living at Union Street, Stratford, East London. My mum had several tallymen knocking on our street door with items such as bed linen, clothing, footwear and chinaware, etc.
On the Thursday, Mr. Curtis (mum's regular tallyman) came to the door with two boy's suits that mum had asked for previously. George and I were told to try them on for size. Mum was satisfied that they fitted us and told Mr. Curtis that she will have them on the 'Never-Never, along with many other items she had had previously.
The next day was Good Friday and we were told that we were going to the Easter fair, which was being held on the Wanstead Flats, Forest Gate, East London. Mum told us to put on our new suits and to go and play in the street whilst she and dad got themselves ready.
She warned us not to get the suits dirty, if we did we won't be going to the fair! Being as it was the first ever suit George and I had we were eager to run around the street just to show off. What with having a new suit, a lovely warm, sunny day and us due to go to the fair made us feel that life was worth living.
After spending a long day at the fair we came home very tired. George and I had a good day apart from making certain we did not get our suits dirty. No sooner we got home mum ordered us to take off our suits and hand them to her. She then folded them up and wrapped them in brown paper.
'Clever old mum!' I thought to myself, 'That will keep the moths out!' But how very wrong I was to think that of mum, as on the Tuesday after the Easter holiday mum sent me to Thompson's, the pawnbrokers in West Ham Lane, Stratford to pawn them.
She never did redeem the suits so we never saw them again. They were lost forever!
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