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Barbara Greenshields (nee Jupp), born in 1924, tells us of life with her mother and father, Edith and Horace and three brothers, David, Brian (known as Peter), and Michael.
'In front of the east end car park, where South Coast World now stands, was quiet part of the beach and a favourite place for our family to go on Sunday afternoons. Plenty of room to play cricket on the sands and Dad came in the sea with us. Mother sat on the beach as a spectator. I don't remember her even having a paddle and I certainly never saw her in a bathing costume. After the walk home our teatime treat might be pilchards in tomato sauce (I'm still rather partial to them) and sometimes Dad would buy a bottle of Woodpecker Cider which we imbibed in the evening. I don't know if Peter and Michael were allowed it, but David and I liked it!
We had our first wireless set (radio) in about 1937 and enjoyed listening to the Sunday evening programmes, especially the music and the serial. Mother listened whilst doing her knitting. She made pullovers, vests, jerseys, and for me, cosy skirts in a ribbed pattern, which fell nicely into pleats when it was made up. She was able to knit and read at the same time and took socks to knit when she went to the cinema, doing round after round in the dark on the four needles. Her left over wool was made into cot blankets for young nieces and nephews.
David could knit and he and I sometimes helped by doing a few of those very long rows. I did manage to knit myself a jersey to wear with a skirt she made for me. When not knitting in her spare time Mother would be doing some embroidery. Cushion covers, tablecloths, runners, often made as presents for the family when Christmas was approaching. She had made a bedspread for our Littlehampton grandparents with daisies on it. They were worked in satin stitch and she told me it had taken an hour to do each one.
We were not far from Mother's childhood home. When Maggie (Mother's sister) married she had gone to live in Chichester and Grandpa Cooper went to live with her and Wally. Frank (Mother's brother) married Wally's sister, Sophie (another day as a bridesmaid for me) and they lived in the cottage in London Road. They had a wireless and before we had ours David and I would sometimes go there on Monday evenings so that we could listen to 'Monday Night at Eight. Mother's Auntie Clara lived in 'Leslie Cottages' in South Bersted Street until she eventually married.
Sometime in 1939 Mother met the lady who still lived next door to our old home in Felpham. 'I've seen your ring', she told her. 'The young woman next door is wearing it'. The words must have been music to Mother's ears, as she had lost a ring, which was very special to her. But could she get it back? Dad visited the house with a photograph of her, clearly showing the ring and it was willingly returned. I suspect a suitable reward was given. 'We dug it up in the garden', they said. Mother thought it must have accidentally got thrown into the bean trench with vegetable peelings. Needless to say she was overjoyed as its return and regarded it as a wonderful Christmas present.
When Michael did a Sunday morning paper round, Dad went with him to help with deliveries - what energy! I was given a new bicycle for my sixteenth birthday when an insurance policy matured and, one summer evening I cycled with him to Bosham where we parted company and I rode home again. Dad's bike served him well. He rode it in Southampton and Winchester until he was in his late eighties.
Unexpected visitors arrived when, during World War II, bombing raids on Portsmouth brought Mother's sister, Annie and her children seeking comparative safety with us. Somehow we managed to fit them all in and I think Mother and Annie appreciated each other's company.
I had not made spectacular progress with piano lessons, but was more successful with the mandolin and had become a member of my teacher's mandolin bank. There were four or five ladies, all older than me, including a violinist and an accordionist. We played at ladies' clubs, bazaars, the homes for the blind, which had been evacuated to Bognor, or whoever requested our services, providing local entertainment in wartime. People seemed to like us for we were kept quite busy.'
Despite the traumas of wartime, it must have been quite jolly to have such a lot of live entertainment as they did.
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