Having just read the replies to my Christmas poem and seeing Deja's post saying that she still had her Kaleidoscope made me curious as to what others had salvaged from their childhood days.
As you all know I went through the London Blitz and was bombed out twice but my teaset is still being displayed in my lovely d-l-ls glass cabinet.
My family have said that this tea-set below will stay in the family for as long as there is someone who wants it. I know my granddaughter wants to keep it so I am hoping it will be passed on to any children she may have in years to come.
My eldest brother who was about 10 at the time I was born in 1930 bought it for me out of the pennies he earned while doing odd jobs for folk. It was purchased the week I was born from East Lane market in London for 3d or threepence as it was known then. Equivalent to just over 2 and a half pence in today’s currency.
I never played with it for nearly 7 years while I was in the Sisters of Mercy home.
My parents were TOO poor to pay for the doctor because I caught double pneumonia at the age of six months so I was put in the home for that reason.
These so called Sisters of Mercy were anything but merciful I am afraid and I was mentally and physically abused while with them . NOT sexually abused Thank God but it was bad enough to make me despise all those who wear a nuns habit.
I made up for it though when I finally went home in 1937.
I played with the tea-set every day and it even went all through the London Blitz. Plus it was taken down tube shelters or in the Anderson and wonder of wonders it just had the teapot spout broken plus a cup.
The cup was repaired with glue.
Ironic and extremely sad that it should still be here when you think of all the lives lost at that time.
During the Blitz, over 2 million houses (60% of which were in London ) were destroyed and 60,000 civilians were killed with 87,000 seriously injured. Of those killed the majority lived in London .
Until halfway through the war more women and children in Britain had been killed than soldiers.
The teaset now has pride of place in my daughter-in-laws glass unit and she brought it out to take a photograph of it on my 78th birthday for my album.
It is now well over 80 years of age.