Elsie May Kay's engagement and war work in Coventry and Wales
Creators: name: Project Team, Their Finest Hour
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 430304
subject: British history
classificationCode: 430308
subject: European history (excl. British, classical Greek and Roman)
classificationCode: 430316
subject: International history

description: The contributor's grandmother went to Anglesea to see relatives since 1918, but on one occasion, she missed the boat. She had to stay all night on a beach, whilst pregnant. She caught Spanish Flu, and after having the baby, Elsie, she was too ill to look after it, so she was sent to her aunt's family in Wales. Eventually Elsie's father came to collect her, but her aunt didn't want to lose Elsie as her own son had been killed in World War II. Her father still took her back, but her mother didn't want her.At 2, Elsie was presented with her sister, Florence, who was so weak at birth that she thought she was a dolly. Later, Florence would almost be prevented from attending the local secondary school. She was the youngest daughter and the whole family was very protective of her. During World War 2, a letter arrived saying that Florence had to go to Coventry to work in a factory. Because of her illness, Elsie requested to go in her stead; lots of letters followed sent to the government, who said that she could go instead of Florence.Elsie travelled first to Birmingham, which she described as 'Hell'. The Salvation Army gave her a cup of tea and a fruit cake, and the contributor has supported them ever since.Elsie was moved to Ryton outside of Coventry, and was put to work in the wages office. When she did the wage slips, she couldn't believe how much the girls made because government legislation had equalised female wages. Factory workers also earned more, so Elsie decided to move into factory work. At some point, she seriously injured her hand, and it remained damaged for the rest of her life. Elsie had to punch a supervisor for touching her bottom. Sexual harrassment was rampant, and she remembered barely escaping being raped by GIs, who attacked her with knives. She was also poisoned due to pollution from a bombed waterworks. Following her injury, she was sent home. After recovering, she moved to an armaments factory in Wales. One day, a spark catches; Elsie notices it, jumps out, and avoids the subsequent explosion. She returns to the factory, receiving money at the end of the week in envelopes. She often donated some of this money to those who had lost homes, and she was once robbed when attempting to donate. She went to the station to go home but without money or a warrant, she couldn't get home. She did get a warrant from the station master, but her own mother wouldn't let her enter her home without the weekly wages. She told her to go to the bank and take out whatever she had to pay her way back in.Later, she meets a gardener, Morris, and they get engaged. She encouraged him to volunteer because then he could choose his service. His mother disagreed, and so he waited to see if he would be conscripted. He was, and ended up in the infantry, much to Elsie's disappointment.Just before Morris was sent off, Elsie and Florence visit him in London. In London, Elsie bumped into him by accident, deeply depressed about his situation.Morris is sent to fight at Monte Cassino and is killed. No body can be removed. Morris' mother wrote to Elsie to tell him of his death, adding that 'one good thing to come out of it is that at least he can't marry you'. The very next day, a second letter arrives from Morris' aunty, offering her condolences and wishing her well. The contributor kept in contact with this aunty (who was not a blood relation) until she died.Else, who never collected her engagement gifts, was lost in grief. On a sunny day, a gypsy knocks on the door saying 'you have suffered great grief' and begging. In a moment of anger and confusion, Elsie gives the woman her engagement ring. Many years later, the contributor gave her mother a picture of Morris she had found and Elsie nearly fainted, such was her love for her deceased fiancé.Another sister of Elsie goes to the Cenotaph years after the war, and collects a single poppy which she sends to Elsie. She faints as a result.When the contributor's daughter was at school, she went to Monte Cassino and looked for Morris' grave. They go to the NEC and tell the story to them. They are impressed and record the love story, and have a memorial to Morris placed in Monte Cassino. He was 23 when he died. This is both a love story and a tale of how cruelty amongst individuals during the was just as present as kindness.