Liverpool Angels (6 page)

‘Don’t be daft, that’s a ride for girls!’ Eddie scoffed while Jimmy sneered at his brother.

Seeing an argument brewing, John intervened. ‘I think you’ll find that you’ve got to be a certain age before they’ll let you have a go on the rifle range, lads, and I’d say you’re too young. So why don’t you all have a turn on the carousel, or those swinging boats, and then ice cream? By then it will be almost time for the big events and we certainly don’t want to miss them.’

Eddie was disappointed. ‘That carousel thing doesn’t look very exciting,’ he muttered.

‘There seems to be just girls on it,’ Jimmy added gloomily.

‘Uncle John, do we have to have them with us?’ Alice demanded, glaring at her brother and Jimmy Mercer. ‘They’ll only go showing us up, won’t they, Mae?’

Mae supposed Alice had a point although she didn’t mind Harry Mercer: he at least was quieter than the other two.

‘We’d sooner go on those swinging-boat things, anyway. They look more exciting than those soppy wooden horses,’ Jimmy stated, frowning at Alice.

‘See what I mean, Uncle John?’ Alice retorted smugly.

‘Right! You lads all come with me to the swinging boats. Mae, Alice and Lucy, you go with Mr Mercer to the carousel, then we’ll meet up when the rides finish for ice cream – and no more arguments! We’re all supposed to be enjoying ourselves,’ John stated firmly before shepherding the boys in the direction of their chosen ride.

Bertie Mercer grinned at him. ‘Kids! You can never please them!’

When Maggie, Agnes and the girls got home later that afternoon they all agreed that it had been well worth standing in the hot sun to see the spectacle, even if they hadn’t been able to get seats in the grandstand.

‘You girls go up and take off those hats and dresses. I see you managed to get ice cream all down the front of yours, Alice; you never seem to stay tidy for long. I’ll put the kettle on,’ Maggie told them, removing her own hat and unbuttoning the neck of her blouse, which was sticking to her with perspiration.

Agnes did the same as she got out Maggie’s cups and saucers, instructing Lucy to take off her hat and not scuff her boots against the stretcher of the bench. ‘It must have taken hours and hours to decorate some of those floats – and didn’t the Mayoress and Lady Derby look elegant? I wish we’d had one of those lacy parasol things to keep the sun off us.’

‘I’d like to see the style tonight at the ball; it will be silks, satins and diamonds and pearls,’ Maggie added.

‘I liked the float with the Rose Queen best,’ Mae remarked dreamily as both she and Alice, now changed into their everyday dresses, sat beside Lucy on the bench next to the table with a mug of buttermilk each.

‘Now that’s one that must have taken ages to dress,’ Agnes stated. ‘All those pink tissue-paper roses and green leaves: it was a blessing the weather is so fine – a shower of rain would have absolutely ruined all that work.’

‘And don’t forget the horses, Aunty Agnes, they had pink and silver ribbons plaited into their manes and tails,’ Mae reminded her. ‘And we had a great time on the carousel. I’m glad Da was home.’

‘You’re spoiled, all of you! Well, I hope they don’t stay down on the waterfront for very much longer or we’ll do no good with those lads for the rest of the day; they’ll be over-excited seeing so many battleships and no doubt start going on about joining the Navy,’ Agnes said, looking meaningfully at Maggie.

‘Our Eddie can get any ideas like that right out of his head. Having John away at sea is enough, isn’t it, Mae?’

Mae nodded as she sipped her drink. She wished her da wasn’t away so much, she always missed him. It was a shame he wouldn’t see the firework display in the park, but at least he’d been home today and it
had
been a very special day.

T
he heat of August had given way to the cooler but still fine days of early September as John prepared to take his next trip, which for once he was looking forward to.

‘I won’t be away for as long this time, Maggie. That service speed of twenty-five knots’ll cut a day off the trip. I shouldn’t wonder if we take the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic – the Blue Riband.’

Maggie was folding his laundered work clothes prior to putting them into his kitbag. Both the girls had gone to bed although neither were asleep and Eddie was over at Agnes’s.

She smiled at his enthusiasm. Even as a young boy he’d always wanted to go to sea; he’d always pointed out to her the different types of ships in the river when they’d gone down to the waterfront as children. ‘I’m looking forward to going down to see you off tomorrow. It looks as if it’s going to be a great occasion; they’re expecting thousands of people to turn out for it and there’ll be a band and everything.’

‘I won’t see any of that, we’ll be hard at it getting the boilers fired up. At least on this ship the bunkers are lined up against the stokehold bulkheads,’ he informed her, ‘so the lads won’t have to cart the coal as far as they do on older ships. That’s a big improvement.’ There were other more technical innovations too which she wouldn’t understand and he wouldn’t bore her with.

‘It’s still damned hard work, John, and I bet they haven’t improved the conditions
that
much. You know, you’re not getting any younger and work like that takes its toll. Do you never think of looking for a job ashore?’

Although he knew she was right he shook his head. Years of working in that heat and dust-laden atmosphere played havoc with men’s bodies, particularly their lungs, but he’d become used to life at sea. ‘I don’t know if I could settle to anything else now, luv, even if I could get a steady job that paid me the same wage. The sea sort of gets into your blood – and don’t forget that while I’m away, bed and board are included.’ He grinned. ‘We’re well fed
and
we get to see the world.’

‘Not much of it, and most of that lot only get as far as the docks whichever side of the Atlantic they’re on. You must have seen far more of New York than the rest of the Black Gang put together.’

‘I have and it’s a fine city. I bet we get a great welcome when we sail up the Hudson at the end of this trip – especially if we’ve managed to break the record.’

She sighed, wondering if he would ever give up the sea. ‘I do worry about you though, especially during the winter in all that atrocious weather. You’ve been lucky so far to escape with just minor injuries. You know as well as I do that men have been seriously hurt, even killed.’

He got up and placed the last few items in the bag before pulling the drawstring tight. ‘Aye, it can be bad and I’m not saying the weather doesn’t affect us in the stokehold. You can be flung off your feet, pitched against the side of a boiler and burned, and it’s far harder to get the furnace door shut with the ship rolling. I’ve known us go through three blizzards in one day in winter – not that we ever get to see with our own eyes just what the weather is doing.’ He grinned at her and pulled a face of mock-horror. ‘Can’t have the likes of us loose on the decks, we’d frighten the daylights out of the paying passengers – and some of them pay a small fortune. Can you imagine if you were taking a stroll on deck after dinner in all your finery and came face to face with one of us covered from head to foot in coal dust? You’d think you’d come across one of the fiends from hell!’

She smiled although she thought it little more than barbarous that they were imprisoned the way they were. ‘You’d better go on up and say goodnight to Mae and Alice now, you know they’ll not settle until you do – especially Mae. She does miss you, John.’

Both girls were sitting up expectantly waiting for him.

‘Now, you’re to go to sleep both of you,’ he instructed, ‘or you’ll be too tired tomorrow to go to see us off.’ All three of the children were accompanying Maggie as it was a Saturday and they had no school. Agnes and Bertie were going too as Mrs Webster had agreed to mind the shop.

‘But I won’t
see
you, Da! You’ll be working; I won’t be able to wave to you,’ Mae reminded him.

‘But there will be plenty of people you
can
wave to – even if you don’t know them. All the passengers and some of the crew will be at the ship’s rails: they love people waving to them. And your Aunty Maggie says there’s to be a band playing as well. It will be a great sight.’

She looked up at him, excitement replacing regret in her blue eyes. ‘As good as the pageant and the fireworks?’

He nodded enthusiastically. ‘Every bit as good and maybe even better. Now, give your old da a kiss and a hug because I have to be away early in the morning. But I won’t be away as long this time: that’s good news, isn’t it? This is a very fast ship so the trip will be quicker. And of course I’ll bring you both something,’ he promised.

Mae reached up and put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. She was looking forward to going to see the spectacle but she wished he could have been on deck so she could actually
see
him. ‘I’ll miss you, Da. Come home soon.’

All the estimates about the size of the crowds had been right, Maggie thought as the following morning they got the tram to the Pier Head.

‘In the name of God, where have all these people come from?’ Agnes exclaimed, looking round. ‘Hang on to me and your da. Whatever you do don’t let go or we’ll never find you again in this crowd,’ she instructed her brood.

The closer they drew, the more the crowds and activity increased. Passengers were ascending the gangways or queuing to have their tickets checked by officials on the dockside from where luggage was being loaded. The last few stragglers from the crew were being hurried aboard with threats of deducted pay by harassed officers, and the boat train had arrived at the Riverside Station so there were porters with luggage trolleys, passengers and Cunard officials and clerks adding to the confusion. On the waterfront the City of Liverpool Police Band was assembling and overall a carnival atmosphere of chaos and good humour prevailed. Even though it was a special occasion Maggie thought that for her it held a deeper significance than just a day out. She was here primarily to see her brother off on his new ship.

At last they managed by sheer determination and a good deal of ruthless pushing and shoving to get quite close to the front of the crowd, finding themselves near to the first-class gangway.

‘Would you just look at the style, Maggie!’ Agnes cried, noting the women in furs and expensive costumes and hats being courteously escorted aboard by men in beautifully tailored suits and overcoats.

Maggie nodded and then gazed upwards at the enormous black hull that towered above them. There were no fewer than four smokestacks, all painted in that distinctive vermilion favoured by Cunard and banded with black, which seemed to soar far into the sky, each emitting a thin ribbon of greyish smoke. Already there were crowds lining the ship’s rails high above them, waving and throwing down thin coloured paper streamers. The rigging that stretched between the two masts was decked with flags, the company flag with its rampant golden lion and globe on a red background taking prominent place, while from the stern the red ensign fluttered in the breeze coming off the river.

‘I heard a feller say it’s the biggest and fastest ship in the whole world. It can beat
anything
!’ Eddie cried excitedly, craning his neck to get a better view. ‘And it’s one of ours! See, it’s got “LIVERPOOL” painted in big white letters. Everyone will know where it’s come from.’

‘I can well believe it,’ Maggie answered. It was
huge
! Her gaze ran over the fresh white paint of the lettering on the bows which stood out against the black hull and proudly proclaimed the name of this leviathan, the Royal Mail Ship ‘RMS
Lusitania
.’

The police band launched into a rousing version of ‘A Life on the Ocean Wave’ but was almost drowned out by the first deep, ear-splitting blast of the ship’s steam whistle, which resounded across the waters of the Mersey, making some people cover their ears in anticipation of the following two blasts, proclaiming the
Lusitania
’s imminent departure from her home port. As the last reverberations died away cheers erupted from the huge crowds lining the waterfront, cheering which continued as the lines were slipped, the hawsers pulled in and with the aid of the tugs the ship slowly began to edge away from the Landing Stage.

‘It’s certainly a sight to remember,’ Maggie pronounced with a note of pride in her voice, a sentiment echoed by the other two hundred thousand people gathered to cheer and wave the vessel off that day.

‘H
urry up, Alice! Give me your hand and we’ll run!’ Mae instructed her cousin as they ran out of the school yard and up the steep incline of St George’s Hill. The December dusk was falling rapidly as the two girls laboured up the slope, and in the maze of streets below them the lamplighters were already at work.

Panting a little, they finally stopped as they reached the top and Mae’s eyes lit up as excitement filled her. In the distance and despite the gloom she could make out the wide, flat, dark ribbon of water that was the River Mersey. Intermittently, small slow-moving lights could be discerned as the ferries and dredgers plied their way across the waters, but just abreast of the Clarence Dock power station was a much bigger ship – ablaze with light from bow to stern – making her way upriver towards the Landing Stage.

Excitedly, Mae pointed towards it. ‘There she is, Alice! There’s the
Lucy
! Da’s on his way in and it’s going to be the best Christmas we’ve ever had!’ she cried.

Alice nodded joyfully as she peered into the distance. ‘Let’s run and tell Mam and Eddie – he’s been dying for Uncle John to get home.’

‘Only because he knows Da’s going to bring him one of those toy guns that fires real caps for Christmas and all his mates will be dead jealous!’ Mae laughed as they broke into a trot, heading downhill now towards Albion Street. She was delighted that for the first time that she could remember her father would be home for the entire holiday. The
Lucy
wouldn’t sail again until the evening of Boxing Day. The two new ships
Lusitania
and
Mauretania,
together with the older
Aquitania
, provided a regular service between Liverpool and America, but the new ‘sisters’ were known as the ‘
Lucy
’ and the ‘
Maury
’, such was the affection in which the people of Liverpool held them.

Maggie was up to her eyes with the preparations for the holiday and wasn’t amused that Eddie had brought Agnes’s boys, plus two more of his mates from school, to view the Christmas tree which Bertie Mercer had anchored in a pot and stood on a stool for her under the window. Alice and Mae had spent last evening decorating it. It did look splendid, though, and Maggie was quietly proud that it was the biggest tree they’d ever had, despite the fact that it was only three feet high. However, its position now looked rather precarious and she wondered if it should be moved into the parlour, otherwise it might not survive the holiday at all, never mind last as long as Twelfth Night.

‘Don’t go poking at it or you’ll have it over and then you’ll be for it, Eddie!’ she warned, deftly manoeuvring between the group of over-excited lads, the tree and the range on top of which the pudding was gently steaming in a pan. Suddenly the kitchen seemed overcrowded, she thought, and she’d have the girls in as well any minute now. Mae had told her that after school they were going to see if they could sight the
Lucy
and before long she’d have John home too and no meal ready. A nice homecoming that would be, she fretted, but then smiled as she thought of her brother’s return; this was going to be a really great Christmas.

Of course tomorrow, Christmas Eve, would be very busy, for like all her neighbours she went to St John’s Market where bargains could be obtained later on and there was always plenty of good-natured banter between the stallholders and customers. She only needed vegetables and fruit for she already had the goose. She’d picked that up this morning and it now sat on the marble slab in the pantry, plucked, dressed and ready for the stuffing. Oh yes, there was still plenty of work to be done tomorrow but the two girls would help.

Over these last weeks she had seen an increase in the number of people wanting to borrow money to provide a bit of Christmas cheer. She didn’t need to hear their reasons for wanting a loan, she knew them already and counted herself fortunate that she didn’t have to wrest every penny from a reluctant husband who was more interested in celebrating with his mates in the pub. Not that she was well off by any means, something she frequently impressed upon the kids. They knew they were very fortunate that they got far more than many children in this street but she was determined they were not going to be spoiled. She had small gifts for each of them plus a shiny new penny, an orange and some nuts, and John was bringing a doll each for the girls and this gun that fired caps that Eddie had set his heart on. He’d no doubt persecute them all and succeed in breaking it before very long. Still, this year it would be good to spend the holiday as a family.

‘We saw the
Lucy
, Mam,’ Alice informed her mother as she followed Mae into the kitchen and unwound her knitted scarf from around her neck.

‘She was just off the Three Ugly Sisters, Aunty Maggie, so Da won’t be very long,’ Mae added, using the local name for the power station and its three chimneys. She took off her coat and hung it up on the peg behind the door.

‘What’s our Eddie brought half the street in here for?’ Alice demanded, glaring at her brother and his mates, particularly Jimmy Mercer, who had managed to dislodge one of the silver stars she’d made from cardboard and covered with the silver paper from the inside of a cigarette packet. ‘Trust you, Jimmy, to go ruining our decorations! It took Mae and me hours and hours to make those things. And you’ve got a tree of your own, I know you have, so it’s not
that
much of a novelty!’

‘Right, off you go home, the lot of you! You heard Mae, the
Lucy
’s docking and her da will be home and he’ll be wanting his dinner in peace,’ Maggie told them all, ushering the group of lads towards the door while glaring at her daughter, who had stuck out her tongue in Jimmy’s direction. ‘And that will do from you, miss!’

Mae, who had retrieved the silver star and was fastening it back on the branch, grinned at Eddie. ‘Bet you can’t wait to see what Da’s got you, Eddie.’

Eddie nodded enthusiastically but before he had a chance to speak, his mother shook her head. ‘Whatever it is, you’re not having it until Christmas morning!’

‘Ah, Mam!’ he protested.

‘You’ll all wait until then for your presents, so don’t you go mithering John the minute he sets foot in the door. Now, you girls set the table while I have a look at this pudding and then make a start on the meal. Eddie, go and fill the coal bucket up. It’s freezing hard outside and I want this kitchen as warm as toast when John gets in.’

Reluctantly Eddie picked up the old battered bucket they used as a scuttle while the two girls got out the dishes and cutlery and Maggie prodded the pudding in its muslin cloth and decided it needed another hour.

‘I wonder if we’ll find any money in it this year?’ Alice pondered aloud, thinking that if she were lucky enough she’d spend it on sweets, which were a luxury they only ever had at Christmas.

Mae smiled at her. ‘Who knows?’ she replied, but she was more excited by having her da home for Christmas than by the prospect of money in the pudding.

The kitchen was warm and looked bright and festive with the tree and the crêpe-paper strips that had been twisted and pinned across the ceiling. Bunches of holly decorated the top of the dresser and the mantel over the range.

The door was flung open and John’s big frame filled the aperture. ‘I’m home! Something smells good, Maggie!’ he announced.

Mae flung herself at him and hugged him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling. ‘Da! Oh, I’m so glad you’re home. I knew you wouldn’t be long – Alice and I saw the
Lucy
coming in – we ran up the hill after school!’

John laughed. ‘I had a feeling you would. Now, let me get my things off and put my bag down.’ He winked at Maggie, having noted Eddie’s barely suppressed excitement. The Wyandotte toy pistol was safely stowed in his bag. ‘And I hope you’ve all been behaving yourselves or Santa won’t be very pleased.’

Maggie bustled about, smiling. ‘They haven’t been too bad but I’ve already told them: no presents until Christmas morning. Now, sit down and get this meal while it’s hot,’ she instructed.

When she’d at last got all three over-excited children to bed she settled down before the fire with John. ‘Was it a good trip?’

He nodded, thinking he would relish this holiday – it was such a rarity to be home. ‘Not bad, but I don’t think young Nancy Ellis – or Farraday as she is now – is going to have much of a “festive” time.’

Maggie frowned. ‘Why not? What’s happened to meladdo? He hasn’t been locked up, has he?’ she asked.

‘No, that wouldn’t be as bad. He’s had an accident. It was rough on the way back and he slipped on the deck and missed getting the furnace door shut – and the whole damned lot spilled out on him. He’s badly burned all over his lower body and legs. The screams were unmerciful. They don’t know if he’ll ever work again or even walk. They were taking him straight to hospital. Had an ambulance waiting.’

Maggie shook her head sadly, thinking how easily it could have been John. ‘I wish you’d look for a job ashore, John. It’s so dangerous down in that stokehold.’

He shrugged. ‘Jobs ashore have their dangers too, Maggie. How many men are killed and injured on the docks, the railways or down the mines?’ He paused and smiled at her. ‘Well, let’s not let it put a damper on things. I got the kids the presents they wanted. I bet Eddie’s had you demented?’

Maggie rolled her eyes. ‘That’s a bit of an understatement but I hope you didn’t spend too much on them.’

‘It’s a hard world, Maggie. Let them enjoy their childhood: it doesn’t last long. In a couple of years Eddie will be leaving school. I don’t begrudge what I spent and it’s good to be home to be able to see their faces. That’s a real treat for me.’

She smiled at him. ‘I know and we’re all really looking forward to Christmas Day. Mind you, I’ve plenty to do tomorrow.’

‘Well, I’ll be here to keep my eye on them all, particularly Eddie,’ he promised as he stoked up the fire, thinking wryly that tending fires and furnaces was something he was indeed expert at.

It was bitterly cold the following morning. A slight dusting of snow had fallen during the night and had been covered by a layer of hoar frost, making the cobbles of the steep streets on Everton Ridge lethal underfoot to man and beast alike. Pedestrians clung tightly to the handrails whilst the carters put down cinders and sacking for their horses, knowing that a broken leg meant not only the loss of the animal but the loss of livelihood too.

‘You’ll have to be careful when you’re out and about today, Maggie, it’s easy to slip and fall,’ John warned as he looked at the frost and snow covering the yard.

‘Don’t I know it and haven’t I already had words with our Eddie over it! He was out there in the street with Agnes’s two lads making a
slide
! I ask you! Did he want half the neighbourhood falling and breaking arms and legs and ending up in hospital for Christmas? I asked him. I sometimes wonder what he’s got for brains but those Mercer twins are as bad. Jimmy had even brought out a shelf from the oven to slide on until Agnes came out and belted him and took it back inside.’

John smothered a grin. It was something he’d done himself as a lad and he’d not given a thought to folk’s safety any more than Eddie and his mates had. ‘I’ll go out and put the cinders from the fire on it, Maggie. They’ll give people a bit more grip.’

‘And I want the girls to go down to Isaac’s. He’s very partial to mince pies, so I’ve made him a dozen,’ Maggie informed him.

‘I didn’t think they celebrated Christmas,’ John mused aloud.

‘They don’t, they have something called Han . . . Hanukkah or something like that instead. I think it means the “Festival of the Lights”. Oh, but he’s getting very frail now and his eyesight is ruined with all those years of sewing.’ She sighed. ‘I feel sorry for him – he’s been good to me. Still, that wife of Harold’s is very good to him and he likes to see our Alice and Mae and they’re fond of him too. They call him “Uncle Isaac”. I suppose they look on him as a sort of grandfather figure, seeing as they never knew one of their own.’

‘It must be very . . . odd, Maggie, seeing everyone celebrating Christmas and not being part of it all. Not even believing in it.’

Maggie pondered this; she’d never really given it much thought before. ‘I suppose they’ve got used to it. It must have seemed very . . . strange to him when he was a little lad just come to this country. I expect
everything
was odd and unfamiliar to him then, but he’s been here so long now that I for one forget he wasn’t born here. And I never think of him as being “foreign”.’ Her expression softened. ‘Mrs Ziegler was a lovely woman. She used to give me little cakes that were very sweet and we never ever had cake in our house, you know that. And he was so thoughtful after Beth died. He was fond of her too, you know. He often says how like her Mae is growing.’

John nodded, smiling sadly. His beautiful Beth was a fading memory but she would never be completely erased from his mind while he had Mae. ‘I’ll walk down with the girls, Maggie. Wish him Happy . . . Hanukkah! He’s a nice old man.’

They’d had one of the best Christmases she could remember, Maggie thought as on Boxing Day she prepared to bid farewell to her brother. It would have been the icing on the cake if he could have been home just a day longer, she mused as she folded his clean work clothes and put them into his bag. The kids had all been delighted with their gifts, Eddie particularly so with the pistol. The girls had begged to be allowed to go and show ‘Uncle Isaac’ the dolls they’d received, which were dressed in very fancy clothes, complete with stiffened organza bonnets. ‘You never see dolls dressed like this in the shops here, Mam!’ Alice had marvelled.