TWELVE
1905
As the winter months faded away gently into spring, Florence could
not help but remember again the saying her father had often used to describe
the weather in the south.
'It’s an overcoat warmer in London' he would say through the pipe
held in his teeth, or over the lip of the perpetual mug of tea in his hand
whenever the subject of Florence, the royal Navy, Devonport, Plymouth, or in
fact anything south of Birmingham was raised. The saying had worn thin on the
family, though now Florence recalled it frequently during the balmy spring
afternoons.
Within a week of arriving in Devonport Florence had found herself
a job as a seamstress in a little firm run by a friend of Mrs Lomas. Florence
had been unaware that she was being questioned by the landlady to find out her
occupational strengths and previous experience during the conversations the two
women had from time to time during the early weeks of Florence’s stay in Mrs
Lomas's house. She had taken an instant liking to Florence, and the two women
frequently shared tea, toast and laughter in the back kitchen of the house. Mrs
Lomas was keen to see that Florence should, if not prosper, at least not fall
on hard times during her stay in her home. She was aware of the dreams which
Florence and Thomas shared, Florence had not been slow at coming forward with
their ideas, such was her nature, an open and trusting girl. She knew also the
pitfalls which could easily befall a young bride who was as obviously unworldly
as Florence, and the good woman went out of her way to gently educate Florence
in the ways of the Royal Navy world, and the world in general. Over the
numerous cups of tea and the slices of toast around the kitchen table which
reminded her of her own home, Florence had told her about life in the cotton
mills. It was as foreign to Mrs Lomas as had been the experiences and stories
told by the soldiers, sailors and marines returning from the Boer War a few
years before. Florence’s tales of the noise and heat, the cold winters mornings
and hot summers afternoons were alien to her, but she was interested also in
the stories she recounted of sewing dresses with her mother, and the clothes
she helped her make for her brothers when they were younger. She noted too the
skills she professed about cooking over an open fire range in the Waterloo
Street kitchen, but felt that these skills would not be of much use to her
friends, in the various trades and small companies they ran in addition to the
boarding houses they operated.
Devonport was a goldmine of women left widowed by war or naval
service, or temporarily made single by the ‘exigencies of the service.’ Roughly
translated and explained by Mrs Lomas, this meant that there were a lot of
married women with time on their hands, and no men who they could look after
whilst their own men were away at sea. Not all of them were keen to live a
solitary life whilst their men were away at sea, and Florence learned quickly
the places to avoid those women, who had decided that life was passing them by
whilst their husbands were away at sea.
As with all naval towns, these women had learned to ‘make do and
mend,’ in the same way their husbands had to do whilst onboard their ships and
shore establishments. Though still a young, vivacious and attractive woman,
Florence had also been instilled by family and her church into ways which shied
her away from straying from the path of a steady and honest life. She was a
lively woman, but held her own views on how a good person should behave, whilst
not once considering that she was a good person. It was simply the norm, the
way in which she had been brought up and raised by her family in Bolton, like
millions of other children who had turned into adults. She decided to settle
down to wait for her husband to complete his training, and then she would see
what life would bring and into which direction she would be faced.
In the meantime she looked for, and quickly found, a job with her
landlady’s friend. The job was finishing off the fine stitching of dresses made
for the wives of rich tradesmen in the town, and some of the wives of senior
officers in the navy. It was a job she did quickly and well, and she was
frequently complemented on her finished dresses, which meant that from the
regular income she received, she was able each week to salt away a small amount
of money in savings. This was also augmented by the allotment Thomas made to
her from his wages each week. As his service time drew on, the sum of money in
her Post Office bank account continued to grow, though she did not tell Thomas
exactly how much she had accumulated. Though she shared almost everything with
Thomas, there were certain things she felt it was legitimate to keep from him,
like her post office account. On the possibility that he would be granted his
desire and be posted to the Australia Station, Florence wanted to have enough
money in her savings to be able to purchase a ticket to the place as soon as
she was able, so that she could join him there.
The summer weather that year was a disappointment. From the
frequent letters which her mother had written Florence knew that she, in the
south of the country, had had the better of it. The season had started well
with temperatures in Devonport being in the mid 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The call
for light weight summer dresses of the latest fashion came thick and fast into
the small shop where Florence worked, but as the summer worn on the weather
became wetter and cooler, though still far warmer than at ‘home,’ as she had
started to refer to Bolton, and the orders fell off, being replaced by a
mixture of autumn outer wear and heavier weight summer dresses. Whatever the
weather though, Florence was kept in constant employment.
One Saturday during the first week in September Florence met
Thomas at the entrance to the dockyards, as had become their custom whilst he
was in a shore establishment. She arrived shortly before noon when the men
working on the ships in the dockyard finished their work for the day. At that
same time her Tommy would be released from his duty on the Doris until Monday
morning, when he would resume his training there. He was nearing the end of
this phase of training, and already looking forward to the next posting, though
he felt it would simply be to another training ship or shore establishment in
the Devonport area, as he was now progressing into the specialisation which he
had been accepted into the navy to cover. Already that year he had spent time
onboard several ships, learning the trade of a seaman and gaining more training
in torpedoes and the electrical systems on the ships. He was coming to the end
of a four month period onboard the Doris and looking forward to the next three
or four months training before his first posting on a serving ship.
'So far' he had said, 'It’s just learning how to stay afloat and
polish stuff.'
He walked proudly through the gates and ignored the calls of his
ship mates as he linked arms with his beautiful young wife, who he had seen
smiling broadly at him beyond the stone pillars of the yard. Thomas was proud
of the flat cap he wore, which signified to others in the service that he was
an Artificer. From the private conversations he had had with the men who supervised
and taught him their skills whilst in this training phase, he felt he was
justified in the pride he took. His was a specialised rank and appointment in
the service, not the ordinary 'Jack.' Today he would have something to tell his
dear wife which should put a smile on her face. As they strode along the street
the sun finally came from behind a cloud, and Florence held out her hand to
stop the light blinding her.
'At last' Thomas said, 'Thought we’d seen the last of that big
round thing ‘til next year.' He stopped and looked down at her as crowds of men
and women walking along the road were forced to divert around them. She was the
prettiest thing he had ever seen, and he was the luckiest man in the world, he
thought. 'Got something to tell you my love' he finally said as they started to
walk once more, clinging onto his arm as he strode out.
'Slow down a bit Tommy,' she complained gently. 'My legs aren’t as
long as yours.'
'No my love they aren’t, but so much nicer though' he grinned.
'Ssh Tommy. Don’t go saying things like that. Folks’ll hear you,'
she remonstrated, pulling gently at his arm.
'Well, I’m just so pleased. I got something really exciting to
tell you. Having a hard time keeping my hands off you at this moment,'
'Thomas Lowe, just you behave yourself. At least ‘til we gets
home.' She turned her face up to him and smiled broadly as they strode along. Thomas
bent down and pecked a kiss on the end of her nose. Florence smiled back at him
and squeezed his arm tighter to her, and picked up her step to keep up with his
longer stride.
They walked along Keyham Dock Road from the dockyard, amidst the
throng of men who worked in the dockyards repairing and building the ships of
the Navy. Many of them had women on their arms like Florence and Thomas, some
of them were single and simply walked along in groups of three or four, heading
for the various public houses along the streets or leading to their homes and
lodgings. As they drew closer to the band stand on the foreshore, a small crowd
of people watched a Royal Marine Band ready their instruments preparatory to
providing an afternoons entertainment for the people of Devonport and Plymouth.
Drawing closer, Florence held Thomas closer to her.
'Oh look Tommy the Navy band is going to be playing. Shall we stop
and watch them for a bit?' Thomas squeezed her arm tight and lowered his head
down so she could hear his words without him having to say them out loud.
'They’re Bootnecks love, not Matlots.' Florence stared up at him,
'What’s the difference between them?' she
asked. Thomas never broke his stride, just grinned down at her.
'Bootnecks is not quite human. They eat
their young, and are only fit to go to sea when us Matlots take ‘em' he said. 'They’re
Royal Marines, never learned to sail a ship properly so they have to rely on us
to get them around.'
'They don't eat their young Thomas Lowe!'
she said, digging him in the ribs. He paused for a second to allow the
information to sink in and smiled at her puzzled look. 'Don’t worry love,
you’ll learn.'
They walked on past the ornate cast iron
framework of the band stand with its raised copula and painted wooden sides. The
bandsmen were settling themselves down in a semi circle, facing out towards the
waters of the English Channel, fidgeting and arranging their music on small stands
in front of their seats. The notes of their various instruments sounded in
their ears as Florence and Thomas drew away from the stand, and grew fainter
the further away they walked, until by the time the band started to play their
first tune the sound was little louder than a seagulls call in the distance. They
turned off the main road and wound their way through the side streets until
they finally made their way to Florence’s lodgings. She stopped in front of the
door and took her key from her coats pocket. Thomas stood patiently by her side
as she fiddled with the key in the worn lock and opened the door into the
hallway. Walking down the corridor she shrugged off her coat, then hung it onto
one of the empty hooks on the side of the wall close to the door to her room.
Thomas followed suit with his cap and jacket. Taking the second key on the key
ring in her hand she opened the door to her room, stepping through and holding
it open for Thomas to follow her. Florence placed the key ring on the table in
the centre of the room and turned to face him as he closed the door behind him.
Throwing her arms around his neck she pulled him to her and kissed him hard on
the lips.
'Now then my man, what is it that you have
been hiding from me since you came out of them damn dockyards?' She dug him
gently in the ribs with her finger and Thomas grimaced in pretended pain.
'Ouch' he exclaimed, 'You don't know how
hard your fingers are young lady. Keep 'em to yourself, if you don't mind.' He returned
her kiss and held her away from him at arm's length. He paused and smiled for a
moment before finally telling her his news. 'It seems that I have been doing
quite well for His Majesty's Navy since I decided to join them,' he said, a
grin creasing his face. Another dig in the ribs made him wince and move away
from her. Florence followed and grabbed his arm.
'Come on Tommy, tell me what's happening.'
She said. Thomas sat down on the edge of the bed and gently pulled her down to sit
beside him.
'Well my love. The training what I have
been doing has been going really well. I've sailed through everything they've
been able to throw at me, both onshore and when we've been at sea. It seems that
the years of work I put in at those bloody mills in Bolton are starting to pay
off. I was pulled into the Pussers cabin this morning just before we quit for
the day.' He paused to raise her tension a little, it had the effect he had
hoped for. Florence took his forearm in both of her hands and twisted the skin
in opposite directions, giving him what was called in Bolton, a Chinese Burn.
'Tell me, or I might be forced to break
your arm, otherwise,' she said, grinding her teeth in a mock show of strength.
He pretended to suffer under the pain and gave way.
'Alright alright,' he said, grinning once
more at her. 'What the Pusser said was
that I had done very well with all the training, and that I was head of the class
in everything we had done. So that whatever posting I wanted, the chances are I
would get it.' He paused for this to sink in and continued. 'So, I was thinking
of applying to be posted on the Powerful.' There was a moments silence as
Florence considered the news then said,
'Doesn't mean a lot to me Tommy. Which
fleet is the Powerful with?' Thomas drew a silent breath and continued.
'The Australia Squadron. It's the admiral's
flagship, and it's based in Sydney, New South Wales.' He paused and let the
news sink in then continued once more. 'Captain Halsey is the captain, and he's
the flag captain to the Commander in Chief of the Australia Station. If it all
goes well and my application is accepted, then I will have a bit more training
for hot weather sailing then I'll be going out there in November to meet up
with the ship, probably in Western Australia. Depends where the ship is when my
posting comes through.'
Florence allowed his arm drop from her
grasp and folded her arms across her chest. Her head dropped onto her chest. This
was what he had been planning since he first entered the Navy, and in her mind part
of her had hoped he would not be successful, but now it appeared that his dreams
were going to come true. How would this fit in with her wishes for a married
life with him, and how would they manage to live together? She had heard many
tales of sailors wives being left destitute by their husbands and wandering
astray whilst they were away at sea. It was not something she wanted to even
contemplate. She had set her mind to work on ways of creating a life for herself
whilst he was away at sea, and perhaps in time, fulfilling the discussions they
had had about her joining him in Australia.
She raised her head in silence and looked
out above the lace curtains which covered two thirds of the window facing out
onto the street. The afternoon sun was shining brightly into the room, and was
pleasantly warm. The sun had been beating on it all the morning and still had a
few hours to go before it set. Noises from outside filtered into the room but failed
to disturb her thoughts. How would they manage to live so far apart for so
long? How long would he be away, would it be months or maybe years? Would he be
tempted to find another 'wife' in a foreign port? The stories of 'Jack' having
a wife in every port were not uncommon, and Florence had a grim determination
that despite her young years, she was not going to be one of these part time
wives of sailors. Thomas stood up from the bed and seated himself at one of the
two chairs arranged around the table in the room, so that he could see her more
clearly. He watched her in silence for a few moments before he spoke.
'What you thinking love?' he finally asked
her quietly. Florence said nothing but continued to watch the sun blinding her
through the window before turning her head towards him. Her eyes were glazed
with the tears she had felt welling up but she kept them under control. Finally
she took a deep breath.
'I know we've talked about this in the past
Tommy, but it just seems that much closer now,' she said. 'It's like it's
suddenly being pushed right at us, and there's so much we need to talk about,
and so many plans to make. I just wish it had been more than a couple of months
away, and I knew a bit more about the Navy and Australia and where you were
going to be stationed whilst you are out there, and where I might be able to
live, and how I could get there, and how much it's going to cost.' The words
flooded out of her mouth almost without her thinking of them. She drew another
breath and continued. 'I don't see my Ma helping me out with any money to get
there, she doesn't have any. I'm going to have to save up myself to buy a
ticket.' A thought went through her mind. 'And where would I get a ticket from
Tommy?' She stopped for more breath, and before she could continue Thomas
interrupted her flow.
'Well, the first thing is to find a ships
agent. There are a lot in Plymouth, but you might be better off trying to find
one in a port where the passenger ships sail from, like London, or Liverpool.' She
looked him in the eye and nodded slowly, the ideas flooding into her mind.
'Liverpool might be better, wouldn't it?'
she asked. 'If I'm going to sail to Australia I would want to see my Ma and Pa
before I went.' Thomas nodded his head in agreement but said nothing more for
the time being. He could see that the idea of her coming out to live with him
in this foreign country had not settled well with her since they had discussed the
subject when they were first married, and now she was maybe having second
thoughts about how to join him, and whether in fact she should join him. This caused
him some consternation.
Thomas rose from the chair and stepped
across the room to the large front window of the house. He stood with his hands
in his pockets for a moment and then turned back into the room to face her.
Florence was staring at her hands on her lap as she sat on the bed.
'You having second thoughts about us being
married love?' he asked softly. Her head came up immediately and she flushed
'No not at all Tommy, she replied quickly.
'It's just that it all seems so sudden now, you going to Australia and me being
left here by myself.' Thomas nodded his head silently waiting for Florence to
continue.
'I just wonder how I will get on here without
you until I can come to Australia to be with you. How long do you think it
would be before I can come out there?' Thomas pondered her question for a
moment and then said,
'I think I need to get my feet under the
table on the ship for at least three months. I don't want you coming out there
and then finding that I have been transferred to another ship 'cos they don't
like what I do. Then maybe it would be time for you to come out.' Florence sat
quietly on the edge of the bed silently nodding her head and considering his
words.
'Alright then, we'll give it three months
and see how you are going on,' she said, swinging her feet onto the floor and
stepping over to his side by the window. She circled her arms around his waist
and squeezed him. 'I do love you Tommy,' she said quietly. Thomas turned his
left arm around her and hugged her to him.
'I know you do love. We just need to make
sure I get this posting, and make certain I don't put my foot in it for a time,
then we can get you out to come and live out there.' They looked into each
other's eyes and he lowered his head down and kissed her on the lips.
Florence looked away from him and out of
the window of the room. The sun was sinking rapidly now, and the sky was
turning a deeper shade of blue than it had been when they had first come into
the house. Soon it would be dark and he would have to go. She gently extricated
herself from his grip, and moved around him and the table to reach into a
cupboard on the left of the sideboard which lay along the wall opposite the
window wall. With her back to the window and the room, she took out a small
bank book from under a small pile of underwear and glanced inside it before
hurriedly replacing in the sideboard. There was not much in the bank, only a
few pounds. Thoughts ran through her mind about how much the cost of her
getting to Australia would be, and how much she would need to take with her to
live when she first arrived.
'If you don't mind love, I think I'd better
be getting back to the ship. I have to be on duty early in the morning ready
for pushing off on Monday, and want to check the stuff I need.' He looked
across the room at her as she turned back to face him. In view of the
conversation they had had, this suited her fine, she needed time to think and
plan.
'Alright love, you get off back. I don't
feel much like doing anything tonight. Think I'll have an early night.' She
paused and then continued, 'If you don't mind, I'd like to miss out on tomorrow
as well. I need to do some thinking about things.' She smiled at him across the
room. Thomas stepped across the room and took her again in his arms.
'Everything is alright isn't it love?' he
asked quietly. She nodded her head and whispered, 'Of course it is. I just need
to get things sorted out in my brain. It's come on sudden really, hasn't it? Don't
you go fretting yourself though, you're not going to lose me. I'm here to stay.'
Thomas let his arms fall to his side and
caught her hands in his as he did so. He squeezed them gently.
'I'm not concerned about that love, I know
you love me. You take as much time as you need. We'll get it sorted one way or
another.' He loosed her hands which fell down to her sides as he moved around
her to open the door into the corridor. Florence stood in the doorway of the
corridor and watched as he took his jacket and cap from the hook on the wall
and pulled his arms through the sleeves, doing up the brass buttons. Placing
his cap on his head Thomas moved off to the front door. They kissed in the open
doorway onto the street and he took her hand once more. 'It will all work out
fine love. You'll see. It just needs sorting out in your head first and then we
need to work out how it's all going to happen.' She pecked him on the lips and
nodded her head in agreement then released his hand. Thomas stepped down into
the small paved front garden and through the gap which had held a gate at one
time then off along the street back to the ship in the dockyard.
Florence took herself off to bed early that
night, not long after Thomas had taken his leave of her. She was tired, but
sleep would not come. The thoughts and plans of Australia surged through her
head, each one tumbling on top of the previous one, then being replaced by
another as soon as the first problem had a solution suggested to it. Eventually
she fell asleep and slept well until the sound of the early morning church
bells woke her. She lay in bed listening until the bells had finished and then,
with a smug grin on her face, pulled up the thin eiderdown to her ears. She
stayed snuggled up in her bed for a further fifteen minutes until the plan she
had fallen asleep with, forced her to wake up properly, get out of bed and get
herself dressed. Once dressed, she drew back the curtains from the window and looked
out at the weather. Though the sky was blue there was a layer of cloud drifting
across the roofs of Devonport from the west, which looked like rain was on its
way. She sat down on the end of the bed and reached underneath for her boots
and, forcing her feet into them, laced them up tightly. She stood up and
stamped her feet down into the toes to make them more comfortable, then stepped
across the room, picking up her keys from the sideboard near the door. In the
hallway she took her hat down from the hook and put it on her head. The weather
did not look promising, and as she had left the umbrella her Pa had loaned her
at the house in Bolton, she had nothing to prevent a soaking should the cloud
turn to rain.
Soon she was striding out along the side
streets of Devonport, until she crossed the edge of the bay and into the city
of Plymouth along Victoria Place and eventually round the back of the barracks
onto the Hoe, one of her most favourite places in all her travels so far. The
brisk walk raised her spirits a little. The Esplanade, the Promenade around the
Hoe, were all places which were open to the sun and weather. Today it seemed
that she was going to get weather, as the cloud continued to blow in on a
westerly from the Atlantic. Florence did not mind the wind or the rain for that
matter, at least now she had the time she needed to come to terms with the
proposal for her future life. This is why she had suggested that Thomas should
not see her that day, it would give her an opportunity to think at some length,
and in some detail, about what their life together might be like, and how she
was going to finance the travel. It was an exciting future to have to think
about, and the wind blowing off the sea did nothing to dull the keen sense of
adventure she felt, as she bent into the wind, gusting hard against her from
time to time. The wind came off the Atlantic and barrelled along the English
Channel gathering strength as it did so. Though it was becoming cold, it did
nothing to chill the growing feeling of warmth and excitement which Florence
felt. This, she said to herself, was the start of a new life for her, and one
she would embrace with all she possessed. If she had the time, as she now did,
then she knew she would find answers to the problems, she would find solutions
to the money, and she would sail away from this island to start a new life with
Thomas in the remote and unknown country of Australia.
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