An Orphan’s Courage

‘Are you offering me the job?’ Jinny was breathless, hardly daring to believe that she could be so lucky.

‘Yes – if you want it,’ Sister Beatrice said, looking a little stern.

‘Oh yes, please,’ Jinny said. ‘When can I start – tomorrow? Can I move in this evening?’

Sister Beatrice smiled. ‘I think that is an excellent idea, Jinny. You will be here nice and early in the morning so that you don’t keep Mrs Davies waiting … and now I think Sandra should take you to meet Mrs Davies, and Nancy, and then show you where you will sleep and the other rooms …’

Jinny thanked her, still not quite believing her good fortune as Sandra led her off to meet various members of staff and then to see the lovely neat, clean room that would be hers. It was larger than the one she had at Nellie’s, not huge but big enough to have an elbow chair and a desk, as well as the bed, chest of drawers and single wardrobe. Jinny didn’t have many possessions other than her clothes, but she realised that she could gradually make this room into her home and it was such a lovely feeling that she turned anxiously to Sandra.

‘Do I have to pay rent?’

Sandra smiled and shook her head. ‘No, Jinny, it is part of your wage. Sister Beatrice doesn’t force girls to live at the nurses’ home but she thinks it is a good idea, especially for the younger ones. You’re asked to be in by ten thirty at night, because then we can lock the gates and know that our staff and children are safe from intruders.’

‘Oh yes, I’ll be in by then. I don’t go out much in the evenings – but I promised Nellie I’d take her to see Elvis Presley at the Odeon when I get my wages. She’s been that good to me, but we can go first house …’

Sandra nodded, looking at her steadily for a moment. ‘Sister Beatrice may seem stern to you, Jinny, but she cares about the children, and she cares about her staff. Be honest, do your job well, and you should be very happy here. I know I have been.’

‘Thank you …’ Jinny blushed, because she hadn’t told them all the details of her unhappy home life, but she thought they probably knew most of it because of Hannah. ‘I shan’t let you down.’

‘I am sure you won’t,’ Sandra said. ‘Well, get off and pack your things – we have supper at half-past eight so if you’re here by then you’ll meet some of the children, because we all sit together for meals …’

‘What yer!’ Micky’s voice hailed her as she approached the corner of Lilac Lane just before she turned down into the ancient courtyard where Nellie’s and her mother’s house stood at the middle of the terrace. He’d just come out of the grocer’s shop and was clutching a racing paper, a packet of cigarettes and a large paper bag filled with what looked like biscuits, cakes and crisps. ‘How yer doin’?’

‘I’m all right,’ Jinny beamed at him, unable to control her excitement. ‘I got my job at St Saviour’s. They’ve given me a nice room to myself and I start tomorrow. I’ll be able to pay for that skirt when I get my wage and take Nellie to the flicks …’

‘That’s great.’ Micky grinned all over his face. ‘You can come to the flicks with me any time you say, Jinny. There’s a film comin’ soon I want to see – Bridge on the River Kwai …’

‘Thanks …’ She hesitated, not wanting to cut him off and yet knowing that she wasn’t ready to become involved too much with someone like Micky. ‘I’ll probably be working most of the time for a start. I’m not sure how much time I get off …’ She glanced at the paper bag and, perhaps because she felt awkward, teased, ‘If you eat all that lot you’ll get fat and then you won’t be able to run fast enough to catch any more thieves …’

‘They ain’t fer me,’ Micky said. ‘Just fetched ’em fer a friend. He’s got two little kids and he’s bin orf work for weeks. The Social don’t pay enough to keep a flea alive, let alone a few treats for the kids. I’m as fit as a fiddle, don’t you worry.’

Jinny nodded and moved from foot to foot uneasily. ‘I’ll see you around then, Micky.’

‘Yeah, I pop up all over the place,’ he said. ‘Go and tell Nellie yer good news; she’ll be sorry ter lose yer …’

‘Nellie is a good friend, but she couldn’t keep me there forever,’ Jinny said. ‘She took me in when I needed help, but I’ll be all right now. It’s a nice place to work and Jake won’t come after me there …’

‘If he bothers you just let me know and I’ll put him right,’ Micky said but Jinny shook her head. She didn’t want them fighting over her, especially as she thought Micky might come off worse. Jinny liked Micky as a friend and she was grateful for his help over her stolen money, but she wasn’t ready to be anyone’s girlfriend just yet. She wanted to work and get some money saved so that she could stand on her own two feet and she thought Micky was the sort who would expect her to be his once he put his mark on her.

Jinny was too young and she wanted some fun before she became romantically involved. Her mother had been pregnant with her at fifteen and married the day she became sixteen – and that was enough to make Jinny vow she wouldn’t get caught in the same trap. There was a big exciting world out there and she wanted to have some fun before she got wed … if she ever did.

‘Run on home and behave yerself,’ Micky said and turned away, whistling cheerfully as he set off up the road.

She couldn’t help being curious about what Micky did for a living. He always seemed to have money in his pocket, and he was wearing a smart suit that morning, and yet she saw him about quite a lot and he didn’t seem to have a regular job. Unless he worked at night …

Nellie hugged her and told her she’d known she would get the job all along. There was a suspicion of tears as she helped Jinny pack her things into a big old shopping bag that she’d had for years.

‘I’ll bring it back when I get time off,’ Jinny promised and Nellie gave a little shake of her head.

‘Yer can always come back ter me if they don’t feed yer enough or treat yer bad,’ she said. ‘I shall miss yer, love, and that’s the truth – but I know it’s best fer yer to go. Jake were sniffin’ round ’ere earlier and I think ’e were lookin’ fer you, Jinny. I went out in the yard and started shaking mats over ’im. ’E give me such a look and went orf quick then! I don’t trust that bugger and that’s the truth.’

Jinny nodded, knowing that there was no real privacy in the communal yard that all four houses in the terrace shared. They were Victorian houses and due to be pulled down as part of the general clearance and rebuilding that was going on all over London. One of these days the tenants would all get notices to quit their homes and the bulldozers would move in, but it had been threatened for as long as Jinny could recall and most people had given up expecting it to happen. If the renovations did go ahead the council were due to rehouse them in one of the more modern estates built in the suburbs. Jinny’s mother had said she wouldn’t let the ‘bloody council’ stick her in ‘one of them soddin’ flats stuck up in the sky’, but Nellie was quite looking forward to it.

‘I wouldn’t mind living somewhere the rats didn’t invade every time it turns cooler,’ she’d once told Jinny after chasing one almost the size of a cat out of her kitchen with a broom. ‘I’d like a nice modern flat with proper electrics and all the rest, better for us as we get older – but I’m not sure the old man will go fer it. ’E’ll probably look for somewhere cheap down near the Docks. They ain’t goin’ ter pull the lot down in one go, are they?’

Jinny had agreed that they would probably find another terraced house going cheap somewhere if they tried. She thought a nice modern house or flat would be much better, but most of the residents were against the demolition of their homes, and some of them talked of barricading the entrance to the court so the bulldozers couldn’t get in. Since none of them had yet received notice it seemed a long way off to Jinny, though you couldn’t go far these days without seeing buildings that were either being knocked down to make way for big stores or new office blocks, or renovations to bring buildings up to standard. Old London was fast disappearing and being replaced by new buildings, though here and there you could still come across a bomb site that was grown over with weeds and littered with rubbish and posters stuck up on billboards, and kids playing in the debris, despite the notices to keep clear.

Jinny couldn’t wait to get away and start her new life. St Saviour’s and Halfpenny Street weren’t much better than these sadly dilapidated houses from outside, but inside it was very different. Even though it was due for a paint-up and some of the basins and toilets were to be renewed, it was far superior to anywhere she’d lived before, the bathroom and tiny kitchen at the nurses’ home modern and sparkling clean.

Sandra had told her she could take a bath when she liked, but it was best to check with the others when they wanted to use it and fit in to a rota so there were no arguments.

‘Sometimes it’s easier to have a wash in your room,’ Sandra told her. ‘When I stayed here I found the later in the evening you try the better. Most of the girls use it as soon as they finish work, before they go out. Mind you, it’s only Sister Beatrice, Mrs Davies, Rose and Nancy who live here at the moment, but we’re looking for another carer so you may have more soon. The others sometimes use the facilities if they have to work late but that doesn’t happen often.’ Sandra looked round thoughtfully. ‘It is rather a luxury for so few these days. I suppose … at one time all of the rooms were occupied.’

‘Why don’t we have as many kids as we used to?’ Jinny asked curiously.

‘The Board of St Saviour’s built a new home on the outskirts of Harlow,’ Sandra said. ‘I haven’t seen it, but Wendy says it’s marvellous, lots of fields round it for the children to play … sports hall, dormitories and a good bus service to the school, youth clubs …’

‘That sounds great for them, but surely …’ Jinny stopped and flushed. ‘I mean it’s here the kids live and get abandoned or sick … isn’t it? So it’s here they need help first …’

Having settled into her room, Jinny found her way to the dining room just as the children came pouring down the stairs and started to rush in, pushing and shoving until Nancy appeared and asked them to form an orderly line. They did so but still continued to push and argue amongst themselves as they queued up to select what they wanted to eat and drink.

‘They’ll quieten down in a moment,’ Nancy said as she saw Jinny lingering on the sidelines, not quite sure what to do. ‘You can help Mrs Davies to dispense the cocoa and Ovaltine or hot milk. After that, you can find a place to sit down and eat yourself. Anywhere there’s an empty seat. Now is your chance to introduce yourself to the children …’

Nancy wandered away to sort out an argument between two boys that looked as if it might develop into a fight, leaving Jinny to join Mrs Davies behind the long counter where supper was set out. It consisted mostly of thin slices of sponge cake, jam tarts and plain biscuits.

Two lads were lingering by the biscuits and Jinny overheard them moaning. ‘It used to be homemade biscuits and steamed puddings for supper,’ one of them said. ‘They’re old shop-bought things and they don’t taste half as good.’

‘The jam tarts are homemade,’ Jinny said and offered him the plate. He glared at her for a minute and then took one. ‘What sort of biscuits did you use to like?’

‘Coconut – and almond ones and ginger ones an’ all,’ he said and eyed her with more interest. ‘Tom likes hot chocolate pudding best and I like the plums wiv custard, but we don’t get none of that, nah. You the new kitchen girl, then?’

‘Yes, I’ve come to help in the kitchen and with lots of jobs,’ Jinny said and offered him a mug of cocoa. ‘I’ll ask why we don’t have our own biscuits and steam puddings if you like.’

‘She’ll chop yer ear orf,’ the second boy said, glancing at Mrs Davies with dislike. ‘Nancy’s the best; she makes all sorts when she’s on duty …’

Jinny nodded but made up her mind to ask the cook why they didn’t make their own biscuits when they were so much better.

‘Thank goodness for that,’ Mrs Davies said when the line of boys and girls had worked its way through. ‘I don’t know why they want so much supper when it’s only a few hours since they had their tea …’

‘Growing lads are always hungry, leastwise, that’s what Nellie says; her sons used to eat her out of house and home before they went off to the Army,’ Jinny replied, eyeing Mrs Davies curiously. She was a woman in her late forties and seemed disgruntled with her lot. ‘They like homemade stuff better than shop-bought biscuits …’

‘I don’t always have the time,’ Mrs Davies grumbled. ‘Nancy gives me a hand sometimes and so does Hannah, but she’s leaving – and that Elsa Janes is a lazy good-for-nothing. She went home after tea, because her stomach ached …’

‘You had a lot to do by yourself,’ Jinny sympathised, guessing that the best way to get on with her was to choose her words with care. ‘I’ll be here now and I’ll be able to help you a lot more. I can make a start on the washing-up now if you like. I’ll take all the empty plates into the kitchen and wash them …’

‘You’re not due to start until the morning …’ Mrs Davies seemed uncertain but Jinny just smiled at her. ‘Well, if you’re sure, it will save me a job.’

Jinny nodded, loaded up the plates and carried the first lot through to the scullery so that she could make a start. There was far too much for one person to do here, and even though Nancy came to give a hand with the wiping up, it took ages to get through all the plates, mugs and dishes.