Foreword
Foreword
Many years ago, I was very fortunate to find a very old shoebox during a house clearout after my dad’s passing. Opening it up, I was amazed to find the biggest pile of letters from my Nan to my Grandad. These letters were written over a 3 year period in the 1950s, where they were separated due to job demands.
Not only does this shoebox contain such a fascinating piece of history for me and my family. It also reveals a true love story that conquered the stresses of being apart as well as the highs and lows of living in the 1950s.
As fascinating as it is, I just couldn’t leave them tucked up in a corner in the attic gathering dust. So I made it my mission to type them all out (mainly for fear of them being destroyed or getting lost). They have been split over two books and this is the beginning.
First of all, I want to take you right back to the beginning - November 1956. Before you start reading, take a moment to consider the way of living back then. My Grandad was placed on a contract of employment for a whole 12 months in West Africa. with no holiday entitlement. Remember there were no emails, no phones (as such) and definitely no video calling. They spent a whole 12 months communicating through only pen and paper. As husband and wife, they spent a whole 12 months without even hearing each other’s voices. The letters which were sent, often took a week, sometimes 2 weeks to be received and then the replies just the same. This meant that quite often the news my Grandad would be receiving would actually end up being very old and out of date, especially in times where he needed to be communicated with quickly.
A tiny bit of background history. My Grandad (Bill) had always worked in the local mines, mining coal. The time period that these letters start from indicate that there was a huge increase of workers wanting to escape from this type of employment. A lot of overseas mining jobs were advertised, meaning that there was an increase of men and families leaving the country for these better-paid jobs. Therefore my Grandad, wanting this opportunity, took it upon himself, with my Nan’s encouragement let her with 4 young boys back here in England. They both truly believed that a better way of living would come their way.
When Bill arrived in West Africa he lived on a camp which consisted of well built, fully furnished bungalows, complete with private pool and house staff. Cynthia refer’s to the house staff as ‘your boy’, as each bungalow had their own staff member. Cynthia’s life back in England is described as being on the poverty line. Their life’s couldn’t have been any different.
They made a vow to write to each other every single day. As you will see sometimes she writes more than once a day and used the letters more like a diary instead. Unfortunately, there are some dates missing - I’m unsure as to where these have ended up but the gaps are very easily filled.
Bill and Cynthia had 4 boys, their ages at the start of these letters were:
Chris - 4 Years
David - 7 Years
Brian - 10 years
Tony - 11 years
