I have had to work hard for my money
NOT all white people are privileged, not all ‘baby boomers’ were given wealth on a plate. i was born after the war. My parents were both Army veterans, born during World War i and soldiers during World War ii. When i arrived food was still on ration. My birth took place in one of the two rooms they rented. They had to pay the midwife to deliver me. There was no nhs to provide care unless paid for. My father was in poor health from war service, which included escape at Dunkirk and being under fire at the Battle of Monte Cassino. Work was not easy to find as we lived out in the fens in eastern england. second-hand clothes and shoes were the norm. Because of my father’s bad health mum gave the best of our poor diet to him. My brother and i had just bread, vegetables and gravy. We had thick porridge for breakfast and Mum kept a few chickens for fresh eggs. our house had no hot running water, just a brick boiler in the kitchen. it had to be filled with cold water and a fire lit underneath. The toilet was outside in the yard. education was poor, no one we knew went to university or teacher training college. if you finished secondary school you could be a teacher! i left school age 15 and did two years at a technical college. My first job paid £8 a week and Mum took £2 of this for my keep. My parents struggled to raise two children — there was no child benefit, no housing benefit, no sick pay. When Dad was ill, most winters, Mum had to do two jobs to keep us. When i got married i expected more. We rented a flat for a year to finish saving for a house deposit. The terrace property we bought cost £1,800. That’s cheap you’ll say, but i was earning £12 a week and my husband earned £15. The house came with no carpets, fitted kitchen, central heating or double glazing. Just a bathroom with bath and toilet. We both worked hard to buy what we needed with a few second-hand items given by our parents. Buying on credit cards was a thing of the future. seven years later, after setting ourselves up like this, we could afford to have children of our own. i took evening classes to improve my education so my job chances were better. i worked my way up the ladder of my profession, mainly male dominated, but with hard work i made it. so this white woman says that any privilege i have i worked for. no one gave it to me. i wasn’t born into wealth. i had to make my own way. i say to anyone, no one owes you a living or a position because of who or what you are. if it’s something you want you have to work for it, you have to earn it.
Jill MCGARRY, nantwich, Cheshire.