|
Grace Paton
‘I am a Cockney’ she said.
Grace was born in 1912, in Poplar, a village in the Docklands of East London.
She went to the Central School in Limehouse to be trained for the business world. Grace wanted to go to the Civil Service but she left school early, at the age of 17years and got a job in a Shipping Office.
She was only six year old when her father died in a freak accident. On his way to work, his bicycle wheel got caught in the tramline and he fell in front of a bus.
‘My mother had a hard struggle to bring up three young children, my two brothers and me.’
In 1938 we were constantly aware that the war was coming. We knew that the Docks would be targeted by the enemy.
‘I felt strongly that I had seen very little of life and was not ready to die. I was determined to get out of London as soon as possible.’
Only contact she could think of at the time was the organisation ‘Holiday Fellowship.’ They had a network of branches. Grace was a member of the London Branch, they went on walks in and around the City.
Grace applied for a job with the Company and had an interview with the Secretary. She tried to put Grace off, as all the jobs available were seasonal and had no future prospect, where as, ‘I had a good permanent job’. Some how she was persuaded and showed a map of Britain with lot of dots and asked Grace where she wanted to go. ‘My response was ‘as far away from London as possible.’
She pointed to the dot at the extreme top of the map and said, ‘How about Loch Leven?’ 
Grace did not know where that was but that did not bother her. She accepted the job at Allt-Shellach.
It was early spring of 1938, she came by the overnight train from London and arrived in a strange country, to work for the summer season. In the train she met Trixie, a girl from Hull.
Later that night they were surprised to find that they were heading for the very same destination.
‘We started to clean the big house a few days before the guests arrived.’
One day the older employees were excited about someone named ‘Andy’ who was coming next day.
Next morning I was polishing the floor in the front hall when some one asked me ‘can you tell me where the manager is?’ ‘I looked up and saw this apparition of a man in a bright red kilt with bright blue stockings and jacket. I directed him to the kitchen. I knew the manager was there.’
Trixie was working in the next room.
Grace hurried there to tell her that she had seen ‘Andy’.
‘What does it looks like?’ Trixie asked.
‘ you never seen anything like in your life, it was like Harry Lauder on stage.’
Andy was working as the secretary and did all the paper work and bookkeeping. He also worked as a guide for the guests and knew the countryside very well.
On their off days, they went out walking. Andy ‘would appear’ and talk about the ‘beauty spots’ and gave directions. ‘One day I said to him ‘why don’t you join us.’ From then on the two of them always went walking together.
That was how it all started.
The guests came to help cleaning the dishes after dinner so that all can join in the dance, every evening in the main room. There were few records and a gramophone. Andy taught the Scottish Dances. ‘I always danced the last Waltz with Andy, he would not have it any other way.
I thought Andy was very clever, the cleverest man I have ever met. I still think the same. I was quite surprised that after leaving school Andy did not go to work, instead he went to live with his parents and got involved in politics.’
At the end of the season Grace went back to London by coach, as that was the cheapest way to travel even in those days.
She travelled mid-week. Mrs. Jackson, her mother came to meet Grace at the coach station. ‘That was great surprise for me; mum hated the journey through the city.’
In the morning of the Monday of the following week mother did not get up at her usual time. Grace thought she would do some housework to show her, how much she had learned. A neighbour came in about ten and asked ‘Where is your mum?’ I replied ‘ she is not up yet. I think she is having a lie in this morning. For Mrs. Jackson, this was very unusual. The neighbour was surprised. She went up to see mum. Soon she came down and said ’ something is wrong with your mother, she is not responding! Call a doctor.’
A doctor arrived soon and saw mother.
He asked ‘ How long has she been ill?
I don’t know what’s wrong with her; she will have to go to hospital.‘
The ambulance took her to the hospital. Mrs. Jackson remained unconscious. No one told, what was wrong with her. Next day Grace and her two brothers went to the hospital to see mother.
Her bed was not there. When we enquired, the ward Sister asked ‘ Who let you in, when the patient has died?’
‘That’s how we found out that mother has passed away.’ 
Grace had several jobs over the next few months.
‘I remember one, working as a receptionist in a home for retired matrons! Most of the residents had double-barrel names. I was repeatedly reminded to address the ladies ‘properly.’ I left the job after a week and found myself back in a Shipping Office again, this time with ‘Henley Tyre and Rubber Company.’
Andy had gone back to stay with his parents in Glasgow. They kept in touch.
‘He wooed me with books. My first Christmas present form him was a book- ‘Testament of youth’ by Vera Brittain.’
Both the brothers had moved away with their jobs. Grace was alone in the house in Poplar. Soon she moved to a flat in Camden Road, North London.
We were expecting enemy attacks but the bombing of London had not yet started. it was still the ‘Phoney war’
Sometime later Andy had moved to London and was staying in her flat, busy with his politics. Grace did not like his politics or his friends.
They were very short of food only one ration book. Andy did not register for the Services when he should have done. We were certain that he will be put in jail if found out.
One day desperate for food Grace decided to go to the local Town Hall and asked for a ration card for Andy.
That gave him away.
Few days later he was asked to report to the Town Hall. The recruiting Sergeant Major said ‘ you are three years too late, lad. Where have you been? Are you a conscientious objector?
Andy’s reply was ‘ No, I did not want to join.’
Andy was soon ordered to report to Canterbury Barracks for initial training for the Army.
Grace and Andy were married on January 1st, 1942. At that time none of the hotels were allowed to charge more than five shillings for a meal. Grace wanted to arrange the wedding reception in a posh hotel in the Strand. She did not have the courage to walk in to ask, so she went to a phone round the corner and rang the hotel to enquire if they were serving lunch for five shillings. The hotel receptionist said they were. Grace was delighted to book lunch for the six of them attending the wedding.
Andy came home some weekends and Grace used to go to see Andy at other weekends. The young couple were welcomed to stay in lodgings near the barracks.
Ian, their first son was born in March 1944.
Soon Andy was sent to the front. Grace went back to her job in a Shipping Office and found a place for Ian in a Day nursery.
I remember getting off work at 3pm, every afternoon and spending time in Regent’s Park with Ian.
One day, Grace received a letter from the Home Office informing her that Andy was missing after a battle.
At the time Andy’s parents were living in Glasgow . They wanted to see Ian. So, Grace travelled to Glasgow. Her brother took them to the station on his motorbike. He promised to go to the flat every day to check and redirect any mail to Glasgow.
While in Glasgow, Grace received a letter from a lady from Nairn. She wrote with the good news that Andy was alive and was prisoner in Germany. She heard this in one of the broadcast by Lord Haw Haw.
Mr. Paton , Andy’s father thought that this was just propaganda and did not want Grace to raise to much hope. From the wording though, Grace was convinced that it was from Andy.
She was still living in her London flat, when Andy came back soon after the war was over.
The Authorities were trying to find jobs for people like Andy. He went for some of the jobs but he did not want a job in London. He said that when he was in the prison camp, he decided to go back to the Scottish Highlands, if ever he got out.
He received about £400 from the Government for the time he was a prisoner. He wanted to go back to the Highlands to start a business as a hill-walking guide, taking tourists to the beautiful and historical hills of Lochaber. Grace did not want him to go but she knew that he was yearning to live in among the hills.
Andy found accommodation in the BA hostel. There was not enough business and gradually his money was running out. Andy started looking for other jobs. He was offered the new post of ‘tour organiser’ by McBraynes buses.
There were not many houses available at that time. He found a room in Corpach. Two retired nurses bought a Cottage and were letting out rooms to supplement their income. Andy wanted me to come to Lochaber.
On holiday in California,
El Capitan in background
photo by Andy Paton
‘I had a nice flat and a good job in London. I wanted to stay but I agreed reluctantly. We stayed in Corpach for four years.’
One day Grace read in the local paper that some new houses were being built in Corpach Moss. These were wooden houses imported from Sweden. They applied for one of these houses. Though they did not think they would get one of these house but they did and moved into their new house in 1950.
I still live in the same house in Clunes Avenue.
Since coming to Lochaber, Grace did not go out to work. Women in those days did not go out to work, there were not many jobs and even less for women
One day, a friend Sheila, asked Grace if she would be interested in a part time job. Sheila had met a Londoner who had moved to Corpach, intending to open a Sawmill and looking for a part time short hand typist. Grace thought she could do that and met the man, Mr. Bowring.
She accepted the offer of the job and worked in the Sawmills for 7 years.
Over the years Grace got involved in community work and stood for Local Authority elections.
Though not elected, she got to know many people and got some publicity.
One day she received a letter from the Editor of The Oban Times. He wrote to say that he was looking for a reporter in the Fort William area. He also mentioned that he had reason to believe that Grace may be suitable for the job. Subsequently, they met in Milton Hotel. Amongst various questions he asked if Grace had any of her writing published. She had and gave him a copy of the magazine the ‘Lady’ with her article. Grace accepted the offer of the job and became the first reporter for The Oban Times, based in Lochaber.
She believed that Provost Mrs. Margaret Murphy had played a large part behind the scene.
Grace worked as the Lochaber Correspondent for The Oban Times for eight years.
Over the years the ownership of the newspaper had changed. One day someone from the Head Office came to discuss various aspects of her employment conditions. During the course of their discussions, he asked Grace about her age. Hearing her reply he smiled and said that Grace should have retired three years before. They could not retire Grace immediately but that she would be ‘phased out’
It was another six years before she actually retired.
|
