DOROTHY CHARLTON
This is Dot's story:
I was in St Joseph's from 1936 until 1949. My mother died and my father wouldn't look after me. I had two brothers who died and my mother was pregnant when she died of 'milk fever'. A nun carried me into St. Joseph's. I can remember Sister Theresa would come and unlock all the doors in the morning and all the children would get up and go to church. After church the nuns would serve us breakfast and then we would walk to infant school. It took an hour to walk there. One day I remember a dog attacking us - a nun grabbed it by the neck and flung it away! We went to the Holy Family Catholic School in Cockerton. I remember Protestants used to walk on the other side of the road and we would shout abuse at each other. We went to church every day except Saturday and we had an evening service benediction every day before tea. From infant school we all went to St. Augustin's school. I needed glasses but wouldn't wear them so I couldn't see. I felt as thick as two short planks at school. My nickname was 'Dot Charlie' for Dorothy Charlton. We were always fighting and we made gangs. I remember hanging in the cloakroom waiting for the door to open and jumping on other girls as they walked in. We fought for nothing really. We all had sad stories. One friend's parents were killed in an air crash, one girl's father would visit her - he was blind. All I knew was that my mother was dead and my father liked a drink too much to look after me. I can remember going to the pictures to see 'Song of the South' and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves when it had just come out. I also remember we had a picture of Shirley Temple hanging in the nursery and we could change her clothes. I recall having to sing in the choir but couldn't stop giggling. I am truly thankful that the nuns looked after us. When air-raid sirens went off they would ruch us undergroung to the cellar and they comforted us when we were poorly. I have fond memories of St Joseph's. It was my childhood - I knew no different. Dorothy remembers Christina Iaine, Joan Gaul, Mary Gaul, an Irish nun called Theresa and two sisters Phoebe and Jessy. May 2015 |