I am now 3 years older from when I wrote the first part of my “Memories of Childhood” and I now add some residual fragments, as my depleted memory recalls, from life and things in the 1930’s and early 1940’s.
This is not a lament for the past, but anyone young in to-days world would not recognise the primitiveness or ordinariness of our lives, and it’s concomitant frugality. Virtually everyone then was poorer than is the case in to-days world. Yet there was a lot that was better then.
e.g. 1. There were three postal deliveries every week-day, 8a.m., 11.30a.m. and 3.p.m. It was possible to post a letter or card in Dublin before 10a.m. and it would be delivered to any central Dublin address that same afternoon.
e.g. 2. Most people did not have a home phone, but if you did phone any business, you spoke
to a person, not a machine offering irritating “options” as nowadays.
e.g. 3. Dublin had a terrific efficient public tram service that covered the entire city and most
suburbs. Fares were reasonable and the trams were safe and clean. I remember that a boy,c.16y.o.
would join the tram at a stop armed with a long handled brush and a long handled dustpan, with an oscillating container. He would sweep up discarded tickets and cigarette butts etc. Then he would leave
the tram at a stop, cross the road, and get on another tram going in the opposite direction. This boy was uniformed like a hotel bellboy in waistcoat and pillbox hat.
Air travel is so everyday now, it’s hard to believe but no ordinary person expected they’d travel on a plane. There was no Dublin Airport in the 1930’s and no Aer Lingus until 1936, when the first plane was bought. It was a De Havilland Dragon, only carried 5 passengers and was named ” Iolar “(eagle) It’s first flight with passengers was in May 1936. It flew from Baldonnell to Bristol, which was as far as its fuel load could take it. The flight took two hours and cost £10. (3 weeks average wage) one way. Passengers for London then took the train. The total number of passengers recorded up till July 1936 was 49. on some days there were no passengers, but the aircraft departed on time as Aer Lingus wanted to establish their reliability.
Few roads were smooth, most main roads in Dublin were laid in what are called “cobblestones” Side roads were roughly done in stone chips laid on hot tar. Apart from travel by tram, train or bus, cycling was very common. Commercial traffic was mostly by horse and cart, but lorries and vans were becoming more common. Although our family had a car, most families did not.
Laundries were very well patronized, as the vast majority of homes did not have a washing machine.
In our house, because of the very large family, spending had to be prudent.
I remember that Ma mostly used the” Bag Wash” service from the Phoenix Laundry, this involved just the washing service and the sheets etc., would come back clean but damp and unironed, in a pillow slip. All the laundries, and there were many, competed on the turn-out of their horse and rig livery and they were all beautifully turned out. One laundry was named ” Swastika ” (an ancient symbol ) ” it had no connection with Germany.The swastika symbol was emblazoned on their shops, vehicles and packaging, so when the war in Europe hotted up, this generated a lot of adverse comment, which the company tried to counteract by increasing to huge size lettering “Established 1912”
There were three big bread companies – Johnston, Mooney and O’Brien , Downes Bakery and
Kennedy’s, who delivered daily to people’s houses by horse and van-cart. Though a lot of people bought from their local shops.
Milk was delivered twice daily street by street, by a huge number of local dairymen, by horse and dray-cart which had two big churns at tail-end. Milk was sold” loose” into your own container. There were also two big dairy firms who did sell milk in bottles, these were Merville Dairies and Hughes Bros. The two firms were also the major Cream and Ice Cream suppliers. In our house we bought cream in the summer from the itinerant Pasteur Dairy man who walked with a tank of cream strapped to his back.
In 1939, as a 10 year old, I was not conscious of the build-up to war, but it seemed to come quickly in September – when Germany invaded Poland. Except for Britain and France every other country including Ireland, declared neutrality. Within Ireland ” The Emergency ” was declared, starting with censorship of news and propaganda, that would impinge on our neutrality.
The first real manifestation of ” The Emergency ” to me was the suppression of night-time lighting. A house light could not show external to your house , so dark curtains were required on windows. Lights in trams and buses etc. were dimmed in a blue or green hue. Cadogan Road street lights were gas and I well remember the men coming to paint 2/3rd of the glass surround shade in black paint, also when the lamplighter came around at dusk to light each street lamp, the gas was turned on at low level. Sticky brown paper tape was fixed in an X on windows to reduce glass splintering in the event of bombing. So quite quickly we all knew the world was going to be grimmer.
Whilst there was no political indoctrination in our home, even as a 10 y.o. I was exposed to daily talk and opinions outside the home e.g. At school in St. Joseph’s I had a lay teacher named O’Driscoll who had a virulent hatred of the British, he would go into rants of anger at what they had done to Ireland in past times. Conversely he would praise Germany as Ireland’s friend. He would proclaim that Germany would defeat Britain. He also tended to be a bit vicious with the punishments and would pull you by the ear. Consequently, he did not influence us with his political views. The authorities got wind of his political rants and he was arrested and interned in the Curragh Internment Camp, for the duration of the war. The Government was determined to suppress any agitation that would endanger our neutrality. Both Britain and Germany had spies operating covertly. One of Britain’s spies was John Betjeman who later became Poet Laureate who was watched, but not arrested as he had diplomatic cover. The first German spy caught was Herr Konstanz living at 245 Templeogue Road. Hermann Goertz was arrested at what he thought was a “safe” house In Blackheath Park in Clontarf. He was interned in Costume Barracks, Athlone. There were several other spies arrested ,each was interned in a different place for security. The German spies got assistance from the IRA , but they were also all rounded up and interned in the Curragh Camp.
There was an underlying fear that Germany might invade Ireland, as a back-door route into Britain
and the other view was that Britain would invade Ireland for the use of it’s ports and airfields, and also to deny Germany. The Irish Government stated that if either side invaded, we would then be
at war with that protagonist. The Irish people overwhelmingly agreed with that policy. However,
the British entered into a dirty propaganda war with ludicrous stories that we were favouring and
helping Germany by re-fueling it’s submarines and similar fabrications. All were brazen lies, the
purpose was to prepare a justification , for when they would invade. It is now known that General Bernard Montgomery was ordered to prepare plans in mid-1940 to invade Cork with his British 3rd. Division Army. It was called off, and Monty went on to gain fame against Rommel in Africa.
Ireland has often been castigated for not joining in the war, but the undisputed fact is except for
Britain and France , every other country in Europe was only in the war because it was invaded.
Sweden , Switzerland, Spain and Portugal remained neutral. The USA, also maintained neutrality
until they were attacked by Japan and even then the USA did not declare war against Germany.
It was Germany that declared war on the USA. Strangely, David Gray, the US war-time ambassador
in Dublin was an abhorrent Hiberniaphobe with contempt for Irish neutrality. Conversely he was an ardent Anglophile and cheerleader for Britain, against Ireland’s neutrality interests.
As the war progressed into 1940, things started to get tougher for everyone, in many ways. Products we were used to became scarce or non-available. Initially petrol was rationed and later there was no petrol for private use. Electricity and Gas was rationed, then sugar, tea and butter. Candles became scarce and coal completely unavailable as were bicycle tyres and parts. Pre-war we had been dependent on Britain for a huge range of manufactured goods and also their shipping for primary foods such tea, coffee, wheat etc. Britain now used this leverage to withhold supplies to us in their coercive policy to get us in the war with them.
Early in the 1940’s, before official rationing started, scarcities of goods began. Well-off families bought up and started stockpiling foods and other goods. We were not in the well-off category. I remember hunting around nearby and distant grocery stores for sugar. Milk was plentiful as was meat. Coal became unavailable, so we used logs or turf(peat) in the kitchen stove. Ma had a very hard time as the turf was invariably damp or wet. Turf was sold by bag weight and some unscrupulous traders would wet the turf before sale. Someone informed us how to create a slow burning cooking means – the system was that you got an old circular(gallon) tin. punched a hole in the base with a piece of broom handle, you would then pack it tightly with sawdust, take away the broom handle, place the tin on a couple of bricks outside the kitchen door. Then set scrunched paper/twigs underneath and set alight. Ma would put a pot of stew on top and this would take 4/5 hours to cook. Water was also heated in this manner. My job was to go down the East Wall Road to Mc Mahons timber yard with an old flour bag or pillow case ,which I’d get filled with sawdust , at no charge – they were glad to get rid of it.
As it was feared that we would be dragged into the war by either side a big recruitment drive for the defence forces commenced in 1940. Brother Art was the oldest boy in our house, but only 14y.o. so he joined the Air Raid Precaution unit as a message carrier. I well remember Billy Daly from No.13 joining the army and when he came home on his first leave looking very smart in uniform. Kids, inc. myself surrounded him with excitement and questions. I was intrigued with the shiny stick that he carried and asked him it’s purpose. He told me it was called “a military swagger stick” and he said they had to carry it off-duty to stop them having their hands in their trouser pockets !
There was a pervasive fear from 1940 that the country would be invaded, either by the British or the Germans, and this would be prefaced by bombing. In 1940 ,excepting Art, who was on A.R.P. duty, myself, Donie, John, and Michael were brought to a local hall that had been set-up as the Registration Centre for our evacuation from the city. I remember that we each were issued with a cardboard label, This had written details about assembly and means of evacuation ,for when the time came. It didn’t. I don’t know what arrangements there were for sisters Carmel and Pat. Brother Denis was reasonably safe in Cahore.
Large bomb shelters made of thick concrete were built on roads throughout the main city area, but the entrances were padlocked until the war was upon us. Again I well remember the army drilling a large number of holes in the bridge over the Tolka River near us. These holes were for the dynamite that they would contain, and then blown-up to stop tanks and enemy forces trying to capture Dublin. This was replicated on all strategic crossings. Also near us on Annesley Bridge Road the army constructed massive concrete tank defence structures with big lengths of steel pointing forward at an angle that would disable tanks or other military vehicles. Only enough room for trams to pass was left in the middle of this wide road. Other metal obstructions were stored nearby which would be put in place quickly upon invasion.
On some nights Daddy would get Lord Haw Haw’s broadcast on the radio. In a droning voice he would start “ This is Germany calling, Germany calling from Bremen on such ! and such! Megacycles.-then he would launch into a tirade against Britain and how Germany was going defeat them. He would often give very accurate information on the bombing of Britain,and did this with great glee. He was very funny only on the manner by which he gave his nightly diatribe.
Neutrality did not prevent the many bombings of Ireland. Although the bombs were most likely dropped by stray aircraft off-loading to ensure their own safe return to base, or by a stray German plane being chased by a British Spitfire, rumours were rife that they may have been deliberate acts of provocation by one of the warring parties to draw Ireland into the war.
The first bombs were dropped on Campile Creamery in Wexford on 28th August 1940,there were 3 killed, many wounded and much damage from 4 bombs. Rathdown Park, then Kimmage were bombed in January 1941. The following night a 500lb bomb was dropped on Donore Terrace damaging houses, Presbyterian Church and a Jewish Synagogue. Bombs were also dropped North Circular Road , Summerhill and the Phoenix Park. Bombs fell on Drogheda, Enniskerry also on Enniscorthy and Carlow where two people were killed. The worst loss of life and property damage was the bombing of the North Strand on the 31st of May 1941, 34 were killed on the night and many more later on from injuries. A very large swathe housing and small shops was destroyed. Cadogan Road is just a mile away and most of us who were in bed, were woken , but Brother Art slept on and myself, Donie and John ran to Art’s bed and shouted at him to get up, that we were at war. He got up and with his helmet and arm-band on headed off towards where his duty was ! We could see the searchlights probing the sky and anti-aircraft artillery batteries firing into the sky. One of the anti-aircraft batteries was located at the very tip of the Bull Wall. A great coincidence for me was that in the 1960’s I employed the Commander of that battery, the now retired Lt.Col.Jim Dolan. I was a manager in the book trade at the time.
Well, we were not at war, but we were certainly in” The Emergency”. The little food treats of pre-war now were just memories. Rations were pared down ,tea seemed to be missed the most and Daddy tried to remedy this. He did own a Radio Shop so he did some deal with a person who either needed a radio or repair done, which he traded for a tea chest which had a good few pounds of the unattainable tea. However when he got it home and Ma made a big pot of tea , we all said in unison –it’s awful. The tea in the chest had become rank or musty. Most of the family chose to do without rather than drink the musty tasting tea. The other awful drink was a bottled coffee concentrate with the name “IREL” it’s taste was far removed from the taste of real coffee.
As the war shortages took hold , the authorities encouraged and promoted the growing of as much home produce as possible. Our house did not have available garden for planting and sowing, but the Dublin Corporation made available much spare land for “allotments” Daddy was allocated an allotment plot in Donnycarney, in the location where there is now a Council Housing Estate. My memory is thin on this , but I do remember that we had no car by then and that meant Daddy walking from Cadogan Road with long-handled fork and spade. I only have a vague memory of being with Daddy on this plot, but I would have been no value for work so it is probable that brother Art helped Daddy. One specific recall is Ma saying that the potato variety that Daddy grew were awful. I remember the variety name well –Aran Banner. It was typical of Daddy to pick some quirky strain instead of going for the tried and trusted.
Apart from the foods that were on ration, there were many now completely unavailable, e.g. bananas, oranges, grapes, melons as well as others which were formerly imported. Flour and Bread were problematic because our home grown wheat was neither abundant enough nor suitable for the white bakers bread . This wheat normally came from America, Canada & Australia and lack of shipping denied it’s importation. To reduce consumption the Government ordered that no bread be sold on the day baked, so all bread was one day old when purchased. As the war went on things got worse and white bread was no more. We got a type of brown coloured loaf, not the wholesome brown wholemeal bread of to-day, but an unappetizing bread. We had plenty of Milk ,Eggs, Meat, Potatoes, Carrots, Turnips, weeds, Cabbages, Peas and Beans ,so we were all well fed, but it must have been an extraordinarily difficult time for both of our parents.
Daddy had a recurrence of his injured leg problems and his Irish Radio Services went through a combination of illness, lack of radio parts and supplies and then the 4 storey tenement house where he also had his shop was condemned for demolition by the Corporation. Daddy contended that the bombing of the North Strand had been a major contributory factor in the undermining of the fabric of his property at 19 Lower Gardiner Street. He then entered a legal battle with the Corporation and won a pyrrhic victory. The need for income then took him to Belfast to work as a radio engineer ,there was a big need there for skills and knowledge, which Daddy had, to help the Brits in their war production.
The war dragged on, and school was an unhappy place for me, so in the first week of November 1944, having absorbed Mark Twain’s dictum “ not to let my schooling interfere with my education “ I quit St. Joseph’s CBS and entered the world of work with Dorans of Marlborough Street at a weekly wage of 12/6 –twelve shillings and sixpence, and
THERE ENDED MY CHILDHOOD
Eddie.
January 2013.