Notes by Alfred John Boon

65 Elm Street (later Elmly) was a six roomed house with 3 bedrooms, and had elastic sides. Besides the family there was Lily (Pip), the illegitimate daughter of my aunt, Lily Elizabeth Boon.  My mother looked after Pip from when she was a few months old until she left school at 14. Her mother, who was then married, invited her to stay a few days, and then sent her out to work.

Another was Violet Bridges, older than me. Her mother, when she was dying, asked my mother to adopt her. She married a Sydney Higbee some time before the war. They had two children, Sheila and Betty. These were sent as refugees during the war to Yeovil, where May fed and clothed them for a few shillings a week, while their parents were raking it in as munitions workers. Violet’s uncle, John Middleton, also lived with us for quite some time.

Another inhabitant was Olive Archer, a friend of Francis. She fell out with her parents, married an engineer from Seimens and died shortly after.

Kathleen (Kit) Taylor, was another refugee from parental warfare, a girlfriend of mine and a workmate of Francis. She married Terry Paul, an Inspector with United Dairies. (Possibly born 1914, daughter of Percival John Taylor and Kate Hunter (IGI))

Wedding of Kit Taylor and Terry Paul 1934

The people living at 67 Elm St did a flit, leaving their lodgers, the Popes, mother, father and son, stranded in an empty house. My mother let them have our front room, supplying the furniture, on the understanding that it was only temporary. It took a year to get them out, more often than not they didn’t pay any rent. My mother couldn’t resist waifs and strays.

We had a good time though. There were always parties from when I was quite small. Parties went on all night, and sometimes lasted the weekend. They could be extended into several days at Christmas, going from house to house.

The last time I saw No 65 it was a hole in the ground, waiting for a concrete monstrosity to be planted. No 65 was on the sixth floor opposite.