A Coventry Kid's Tale

Chapter 7: Aged 11, Senior School days

Home time, 4pm, taking a walk through Primrose Hill Park on the way home the child would stop and play on the swings and slides. Play war games on the hill. In winter this hill was good for sliding down on the snow, anything just to delay going to the warehouse. But the warehouse he had to go. After going to the warehouse he would go out to play with his friend Alan Gamble. Now one good game they had was to climb onto the "Singer" roof in Vine Street, then they would creep past the back of the 13 Raglan Street so as not to be seen by the child's mother. Once past they could then walk all the way over the roof to Canterbury Street. It would not have been too bad but the roof was made of glass. Now glass is very brittle so the child always walked carefully, the glass panes were approx 10ft x 2ft and the child would only walk on the metal bars holding the glass in place. However, one day the cry went up from below "There's somebody on the roof". Off like a shot the child and his friend ran, straight up the side of the roof onto the apex where it was safer to run. The child got to the apex first just as he heard a cry of "aaaaarrrrrggghh". Turning round the child saw Alan disappearing through a glass panel, all in slow motion, Alan sank up to his waist before putting his arms out sideways, he grabbed the two metal bars and hoisted himself straight back out and carried on running. He was very lucky as it was a 20ft drop into the factory machine shop below. Never again did they venture onto the roof again. Well not on the glass part anyway!

Fishing in the Swanswell was another favourite pastime, Saturdays being best. The best minnows were to be caught in the murky end. Leaning far out the child overbalanced but luckily for the child he managed to hold onto the side with one hand. This managed to keep his head out of the slimy mud. When he climbed out he looked like the creature from the black lagoon. Dripping stinking slimy mud he began to walk home. People avoided him (the child was used to this) because of the smell, leaving a trail of slime behind him like a slug he managed to get home. His mother said "You're not coming in here, get yourself round the back". So round the back the child went. Outside he had to strip naked, put his clothes in the dustbin, then wash in a bucket before he was allowed into the house. This also put an end to fishing in the Swanswell (but not an end to skating on the ice in winter).

While out looking for food, the child went to a bomb site in Cox Street. Now on this bomb site there grew blackberries, the hungry child used to pick his fill but on this day he heard a plaintive cry. Searching around the cry came from the middle of the biggest blackberry bush. Undeterred the child set about crawling into the centre of the bush, here he found a kitten, the mother dead along with several kittens. One kitten was still alive. Scratched all over the child rescued the kitten and took him home. The kitten was a white fluffy thing and very pleased to get something to eat. The kitten did well but a few weeks later it had to be put to sleep because it had cancer. The father, to console the child, gave him half-a-crown, this was one half-a-crown the child would have willingly gone without. The only one in his life!!