Meet the brave women of Britain’s forgotten army
The matriarchs of wartime London’s East End steered it through its darkest times. KATE THOMPSON tells us their inspiring stories WIT AND WISDOM OF EAST END HEROINES
NEXT year marks the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War when the country will commemorate the sacrifices of Britain’s brave servicemen and women.
But what about the forgotten army of working-class women who kept their tight-knit communities running through war and peace?
In the 1940s the East End of London was very much a matriarchal society. Women in cross-over aprons and turbans were the beating heart of their neighbourhoods.
The matriarch was the go-to woman, responsible for birthing babies, laying out the dead and a plethora of other roles. She was a social worker, midwife, citizens’ advice worker, nurse, hairdresser, childminder and moneylender, all rolled up in a starched apron.
Author Kate Thompson is celebrating these indomitable women in her new book The Stepney Doorstep Society. She tells us their stories.
HENRIETTA ‘MINKSY’ KEEPER
A former seamstress, 91, who lives in Bethnal Green, east London. She has three daughters, seven grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson. Her husband Joe, a coal delivery driver, died in 1997 BETHNAL Green songbird Henrietta Keeper, nicknamed Minksy, grew up watching her father Bill sing for his supper in the music halls and pubs of the East End.
She went on to learn the trade singing in the crowded wartime Tube station shelters.
“Singing was what kept us bonded when the bombs were dropping,” says Minksy.
However it was her experiences working in the ribald wartime rag factories sewing army and navy uniforms that really opened Minksy’s eyes.
“At a time when living to see the dawn of a new day was far from a certainty, women were desperate to live for the moment. In the factory, Minksy: “Do what brings you joy in life and makes your heart sing.” Doreen: “You have a duty to give back to your community.” Girl Walker: “Like most East End women I keep a tidy house. When it comes to housework I always say this: ‘Do the corners and the middle will look after itself’.” Babs: “Never leave the house without a clean pair of knickers in your bag!” a lot of women got up to mischief. One married woman used to smuggle notes saying ‘if you’re in the mood, come to me and I’ll be in the nude’ into the pockets of the uniforms she was sewing. She put her address on the back and got plenty of replies.
“However it was the mothers of the East End who had it worst, juggling rations to feed large families as well as dodging bombs and working in the factories. They were under fire daily yet they had no guns with which to fire back.”
DOREEN GOLDING
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