Eliza's Last Thoughts
“Keep the home fires burning” sang young Emmie as she got ready for work. Yes, thought Eliza, every day brought news of those poor boys dying in France. Let us hope it will all be over soon and the lads will come home. Strange really how her boys missed being called up because they were too old. She had been lucky there.
She had still lost young Arthur and it was hard to believe that twelve years had passed since William, her eldest, had died leaving poor Mary with just Kate and Willie at home but at least the children were grown up and could lend a hand. Rebecca was married to her Charlie and Marion, their only daughter, was getting on for thirty now.
Her other boys Ernie, Charlie and Bert were all married. Bert gets so annoyed when Charlie brings flowers for Emma when he comes over. Of course he has nothing to worry about and it's only natural that Charlie should bring flowers as he is a florist.
But Bert has been good to me. Whatever would I have done without Bert & Em? Well I suppose that it was a help for Em when they first took me in, her with four little ones in the first five years of her marriage. It was good of them, though, to let me stay when I was no longer needed. Not even when Em surprised us all by having little Hilda last year. Little Emmie, her eldest, proved that she was quite grown up enough to give her mother a hand.
So I have seen the birth of all my grandchildren and all taken together it has been a good life. Pity I lost my William so soon, thirty years ago now it would be. It will not be long now before I join him. I wonder what life is like in Swerford now? It must be over sixty years since we came to London ……