Nothing But Bad Times: Chapter Eleven, Part One
For Mary Ann, the last few years of the 1920's and the first of the following decade brought her cordial happiness. She had now a handful of grandchildren who would come to see her almost every day and life seemed to be giving her a break. The bond between her and her children grew as they became older, and in particular the bond between her and Nellie grew. But Nimmo's Row's was home only to the two of them.
Things changed in 1924 when Nellie met a man called Henry Russell, the son of a late Colliery Manager named Daniel and his wife Jane. Although Henry was three years her junior, the two of them hit it off immediately. Henry (or Harry as he was known), worked in the same steelworks as Nellie's brother Barney did, maybe that is how they met, who knows? That part of the story seems to have been lost. My gran has always kept a particular story close to her heart however, about the time when Harry introduced Nellie to his friends at a steelworks social in 1925 At the time, the two of them were engaged. Harry's mates, in a seemingly warped sense of hilarity, joked at Harry because he was marrying a woman with one leg. In defiance, Nellie threw down her crutch, climbed onto a seat and hopped out of a pub window, remaining standing. Harry's “mates” didn't speak to her again.
Nellie and Harry married in Carfin on February 12 1926. Harry was from a very Protestant family, so Protestant in fact that his parents only married because they had the same surname and only married their “own kind”. They were extremely wealthy and had it not been for Daniel's sudden death in the coal mines in 1910, the Russell's would have moved to America. Daniel's death, ensured my existence. Weird that, isn't it? Harry converted to Catholicism on Nellie's wishes and throughout his life remained devout and in all, a very good man. He was the idyllic husband and the perfect father. Quiet, but his actions spoke more than words ever could. He changed his entire belief structures for the woman he loved.
Speaking of fathering, six months after their marriage, Nellie gave birth. She did so to a son whom was called Daniel. After Daniel came Mary Ann in 1928, Ellen in 1932, and Henry in 1935. Ellen is my grandmother. Mary Ann died in 1999 and Henry died in 1992. Daniel (Danny) and Ellen are still alive. Ellen is my granny.
We now take this story into the 1930's, when the steel industry blossomed in Britain. Steelworks popped up all over the country, the biggest at the time was in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. Harry spotted an opportunity here. Corby was an old village hearkening back to the Middle Ages, and now suddenly was booming, growing by the day and by 1935 it had soon become a small town, which later developed into a big town and now (2008) has a population of about 59,000. Harry and Nellie became increasingly attached to the idea of moving not just out of Holytown, but out of Scotland altogether. Nellie and her new family did warm to the idea, and Nellie asked Mary Ann if she wanted to join them in their new life. Given Mary Ann's strong bond to Nellie, it is surprising that she refused the offer. It may have been due to the scars that had not quite healed, after all she had made a life changing journey before, and that almost killed her, it did kill her father. Or maybe it was because her siblings and other children were still living all around her. Only recently, in summer 1933, had Mary Ann lost her youngest sister Ellen Donnachie. She died, aged 55, and left her widow James Donnachie behind her. He died in 1947.Ellen Donnachie is buried in Saint Patrick's Cemetery, New Stevenston.
In spring 1935, Nellie and Harry decided to leave their home in Lanarkshire, and headed down to Corby. Their youngest child Henry was just two months old. It must have been difficult to watch her daughter go, as Maggie and Barney had literally stayed around the corner from her. Nellie had flown the nest, and they headed for Corby, which at the time promised work plenty for an eager Russell family...
Copyright © Matthew Reay, 2008
