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View Tree for Edith Maud BroomeEdith Maud Broome (b. 7 February 1906, d. June 1990)

Edith Maud Broome was born 7 February 1906 in Wootton (nr. Woodstock), Oxfordshire, England.113, and died June 1990 in Bairnsdale Victoria.113. She married Joseph Frederick Alvin on 1927 in Bairnsdale, Victoria113, son of Joseph Pierce Alvin and Jane Mary Ellis.

 Includes NotesNotes for Edith Maud Broome:
This is a transcript of memoirs, dated 6th October 1987, written by Edith Maud.

"I was born at Wootton near Woodstock in Oxfordshire on the seventh of February 1906 and lived with my mother and father, brothers and sisters in a big farmhouse with two rooms upstairs, an attic and a cellar. My father was the manager of this farm from the day he was married. He was a wonderful worker and a great manager. He loved animals, especially horses. Each year he would dress them up for the show; groomed so you could almost see your face in them, their tails plaited with ribbon and their ears covered with little caps decorated with ribbon, bells and tassles, they were a picture to behold and my Dad was proud of them. Also on the farm were sheep, cows, pigs and chooks.

The owner of this farm lived in Woodstock, about 4 miles away. Every Friday night my Dad would take the eggs down to him, he always took one of the toddlers with him as there were two of us he took us in turn, walking of course as there was no other way of going. The owner gave us refreshments and had a talk, he had an artificial hand and he always wore a brown kid glove over it, he rode a magnificent horse and often rode over to see my Dad and all his work on the farm. They also had a shepherd to look after the sheep. I can see him now with his white beard and crook stick. They grew wheat, barley, oats and field turnips which were cut up for the sheep in winter.

Of course all the animals except the sheep, were housed three or four months of the year and Dad very often had to cut a trench through the snow to get to the animals. After harvesting (by hand with a scythe) all the crops were built into ricks (stacks) and Dad thatched them to keep the water out, at this he was an expert. A lot of crops were also put in the loft and in the spring time Dad would call out "kip, kip, come along" and the stock would come along galloping up from the fields and meadows to get the feed which was thrown to them from the loft.

My father was a great gardener too, we were never short of vegetables and fruit. There was a damson tree just outside our garden fence and also five big horse chestnut trees where Dad put up a swing for us children to play on.

We had vegetables all the year round and potatoes laid on, he would bag alot and put them in the attic and a lot he would 'pit'. When the time came around for them to start shooting he took us kiddies up to pull the shoots off - 'chit' them, as we called it.

There was a beautiful river running through this property which we called "The Brook", we swam in it in the nude and ate crab apples which grew in the hedgerows. We also had plenty of blackcurrants, redcurrants and strawberries. Mum made lots of jam and lovely apple pies and puddings, she also made parsnip wine and elderberry wine and put it in red earthenware tubs and put it down the cellar to ferment.

Dad and Mum reared a family of seven on 12/6d a week. When the First World War broke out Dad enlisted in 1914, donned his uniform and went to France in the Army Veterinary Corps. He looked grand, a tall, lean and handsome man. His duty was fetching the wounded horses back from the firing line. After a little while, and to my Mum's disgust, the owner of the farm came over and told her she would have to leave the house as he had another manager coming in to carry on.

She trudged Wootton, Woodstock and Oxford for a place to live and at last met a gentleman who was building four houses in Cowley off the Oxford road, he told he she could have the second one that was built for 6/- a week. Of course it was two storey with a half glass front door and an attractive letter box and knocker. So on her own Mum arranged for two men with big lorries and four horses pulling each to take us 50 miles* to our new home in Cowley to live. My brother and I were on top of this and driven to Cowley. At this time my eldest and third sister were away in Brimingham and Coventry in munitation factories making parts for aeroplanes. My second sister died in Wootton, that nearly killed my mother. At Cowley Mum received her first pay from the Army 25/- a week which seemed alot after 12/6d. It was a little more than she should have got as Dad had allowed 6d each for us out of his Army pay of 1/- a day.

We loved it in our new house but as I was school age I went back to School and I left when I was 13 as I was anxious to earn some money. There was a Kid Glove Factory opening on Botely Road. They paid 10/- for the first fortnight and 15/- for the next and then on a piece work. I walked all the way from Cowley to the Factory through Oxford, over Magdalen Bridge, past all the Colleges and Churches and on to Boteley Road. I applied for a job and got one and I was so excited that I couldn't wait to walk back to Cowley so with the 2d I had received I got on the bus which took me nearly home. I started the next week and my Brother also got a job at a big drapery store as an errand boy, so that left only my younger sister at home. When I had worked a couple of months at the glove factory I asked the manageress if I could go on a buttoning machine and then on piece work, well I worked on that machine as if I was glued to the stool. The first week I earned two pounds. I just couldn't get home quick enough to my Mother with it, she said we should have a little drink to celebrate. My work was putting 2 buttons on each glove, when I had done a dozen pairs I got two pence hapenny. I always walked to work, I didn't want to waste money on the buses, I was young and it didn't hurt me, but in the winter with the snow on the ground I would run and slide all the way which I enjoyed.

After a year at the Front Lines my Dad came home on a fortnight furlough, he didd't know exactly where we lived but must have enquired somewhere. When we were all in bed that night Mum heard Rose, Rose (That was her name) down she went to find Dad at the door, then we all went down nearly falling down the stairs with excitement, I will say now that was the first holiday dad had had in his life as holidays weren't on those days. He brought us all home something from France, silk card, rosary beads with a cross on the bottom which we could see views of France and such like. The next day Dad shone up all his buttons on his uniform and went down to the city of Oxford, we were all so proud of him in his uniform his eqaulettes and all. There was much saluting going on because there were alot of officers in the City, there were lots of Red Caps (Military Police) looking around to see if they did anything wrong or didn't salute their officers. We lived about a half a mile from Cowley Barracks, we frequently saw soldiers with the band playing them off to Oxford Railway Station en route to France, or whereever they were posted to go. When the band wasn't playing the soldiers were whistling and we all waved them goodbye with tears in our eyes knowing full well a lot would never return. Quite often we saw troops coming back from the front lines, tired and weary with full kit on their backs bespotted with mud and blood. As we lived at the bottom of Cowley Hill they would sit down and have a rest, we and the neighbours would take them out tea and coffee and all sorts of refreshments including apple pie which they enjoyed, some of them looked in their kit bags and gave us a tin of bully beef or a tin of jam which of course was very acceptable as we were on rations, they would then go trudging up the hill to the barracks. In the winter, when the snow was on the ground, we kiddies would snowball them and some would snowball us back, but there were some who took no notice. I suppose they were thinking of their loved ones who were left behind.

When my Dad's furlough was over he went back to France to carry on his job fetching wounded horses from the front lines, he wasn't long when a horse bit him badly on the arm, he was sent to Woolwich Hospital for treatment after that he was demobilised and sent home. He had a bit of a holiday then went looking for work, everything had been taken over by women, such as land girls, bus drivers and conductors, there was nothing for him to do, so he joined up again and was sent to look after German prisoners, he told us there were some very nice fellows amongst them, they said they didn't want to fight. Dad got on fine with them, some of them were very clever making ornaments from empty shell cases just with a hammer and nail. All of this continued until armistice was signed, I will never forget all the celebrations, crowds and crowds of people shouting and singing. I was in that crowd being pushed along going nowhere but backwards and forwards, up and down the City of Oxford, bells were ringing from the lovely churches, everyone was thankfull that peace again reigned.



More About Edith Maud Broome and Joseph Frederick Alvin:
Marriage: 1927, Bairnsdale, Victoria.113

Children of Edith Maud Broome and Joseph Frederick Alvin are:
  1. Kathleen Alvin.
  2. Betty Alvin.
  3. Joy Alvin.
  4. +Joseph Kenneth Alvin.
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