Mummy's Memoirs - Part 2

PART 2 - Elfreda Robak - born 5.4.1925

I had another day off school. I had bought my cake, a little girl I knew bought one too. So, we sat on a seat outside the bakery and ate our cakes. We decided it was too late for school. So we wandered around. was When we came into our yard we noticed the big rubbish bin. It took up one side of the yard. There was a ladder up the side and a chute for the rubbish to be thrown down . We climbed the ladder and slid down into the rubbish. We discovered all sorts of treasures and foraged around for hours.

It got quite dark, we had been sitting ‘reading books’ when we heard the shoutings. They were calling us!

My mother had told me not to go near the rubbish dump. We were both very frightened. Too frightened to let anyone know where we were. So we id in the darkest corner so no-one would see us. The shouting went on and on.

Then someone came down the chute and we were found.

Mother made an awful fuss and escorted me to school for a long time.

I must have been a great trial to mother. I used to go to the church where a lot of old women sat begging. I made them come home with me, telling them that mother had invited them to at. Mother would be quite shocked on finding me with these dirty bedraggled ladies on her doorstep. I’d say “I’ve bought Granny home to tea” but she would make them tea and give them something to eat.

What used to annoy her most though was when we would go to Mass in our best finery. I used to call out to the old women “Granny, Granny”. My mother would try to tear me away in case anyone thought they were her mother.

We went to a wedding. I met a little boy, Lusiek, and we decided we would get married too. We walked around with our arms around each other telling everyone that as soon as we were grown up we were going to get married. They all would come to our wedding too.

Lusiek and I would often meet when out shopping with our respective mothers. We would always assure each other about our marriage. I often now wonder what really would have happened if I had stayed in Poland.

It was not to be. When I was five great plans were soon in progress to go to Austria. Father went six months before. He was accompanied with a friend of his, Joe Mendrys.

When the applications for passports etc., were underway it was found that I had been christened Alfred, sex-male, there was a terribleto-do.

All boys had to register for military duties at 18. It took a long time to get the records straight, In Poland births were registered in church during the christening. The sacristan made out the birth certificate. He was a friend of the family who had started the christening celebrations at our home before the christening, so must have been quite drunk by that time. Where they got the name Alfred from, I don’t know and haven’t been able to find out.

[I think mum glossed over this a bit. I wouldn’t know but I would have thought her birth certificate more important than her christening certificate. After her death, I actually managed to get her original birth certificate (bit of a story there too) which showed no father, but had the adoption details on the back - it was an official document and strange that they went to through official channels considering it was 1925 when mum was born and that Granny was illiterate, it must have been my Grandad behind it. Her birth mother’s name was given as Kazimiera Jarzinska and my mother’s name as Alfreda. On the back of it, it shows the adoption details but also amends my mother’s birth mother’s name as being Helena and not Kazimiera. How strange is that?] My mother had never seen this certificate but on that club wrapper when she wrote her birth mother’s name it was “Helena Jarzinska”. She was given this information by her cousins, and they certainly knew their stuff, didn’t they!  When I came out of the Polish Embassy with that precious piece of paper, I held it to the sky in the hope that mummy could see it for herself.)

They would see if working conditions were acceptable to them. If everything was in order the families would join them. Mr and Mrs Mendrys had only recently married. She kept a sweet shop in the town and lived across the road to us.

I remember some of the train journey to Austria, going over bridges would fill me with great excitement. Some of the rivers would be quite long, and I was sure we would end up in them. So as soon as we were on a bridge, I would have t go to the window to make sure we had crossed safely.

Austria was very beautiful. We lived in a small town, Berndoff. Again, we lived in a block of flats on the first floor, Anersberg Strasse.

My first word in German was Haase. I was going through a field with a man, someone to do with father’s works. We were going to visit the director of the firm and the man was taking me. Hehad bought me a rubber rabbit that blew up, so he told me it was a Haase.

The director and his wife lived in a whitewashed cottage. They had a daughter who shortly afterwards married a German. Mother and Mrs Mendrys had the latest style of dresses, just below the knees with the hem cut up and down all round. With large flowers made of the same material on their bosoms. Mother had her hair all frizzy and wavy. They even curled my hair!

When the photographs were taken mother kept banging me because I would not look up. I was too shy! The photos came out with me with my head bent and I got a good telling off for it.

[I think I have this photo somewhere and will try to scan it in, I never realised where it was taken before, I thought it was at a wedding as they were all dressed up to the nines.]

We had to spend the night there. I was to sleep with a big boy of nine. I was very excited, sleeping with someone. I eagerly looked forward to it.

I was taken upstairs. The boy was already in bed and asleep. I was undressed and we went towards the bed, the lady lifted the bed clothes, and then I saw it!

The boy had his back to us, his clothes up to his waist, and under his bottom was a big bump. I would not go in that bed. I screamed and screamed. If my life depended on it I would not go in the bed. I clutched at everything when they tried to force me into it.

I made such a noise, most of the wedding party had come to see what had happened.

When they had calmed me down I pointed at the poor boy and said “he’s got something awful in between his legs!” Everyone screamed with laughter. The poor boy who did not know what the fuss was about started crying and so did I.

I don’t know where I slept but I know it was not with him. I kept out of his way, I thought he was going to do something dreadful to me for telling everyone and making him cry.

If I saw him approaching, I’d flee like from the devil. Poor boy!

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I have added a few comments in square brackets, hopefully be able to put some photos on here when I understand how to do it properly!

Terry