The suffering better off's in WW2 with shortage of domestic servant labour

[dobfarm]

After reading a article about a posh woman in WW2, who lived in Henley on Thames, she had complained to the war office about shortage of domestic labour, only having a elderly woman cook and a scullery maid, who was not trained to tend table, and be a ladies maid etc. Their reply, well in short in its basic form something like, was, "adviced to visit a local library to read up on self motivation, elbow grease and how to use a scrubbing brush", should help her with her problem.

This reminded me of my mother, who had worked for a mill owners wife as the only servant, come cook, maid and dogs body for 14 years for peanut wages till she married my dad in 1939, she left and by 1941 had a baby. My mum and her sister in law, who also had children shared a job part time for the railway 3 days a week, then swapped over Monday till Saturday and each looked after their children on days off. Anyway the mill owners wife had got a new maid after mum left but she went into land army and left by 1942. The lady came to see my mother, who offered both my auntie and my mother jobs to work for her as overlapping part time house cleaning job servants again for peanuts wages on their days off from the railway and she would look after their children with her own kids. Mum told her to close the door on her way out. 

Has anyone else got any similar stories.


 

[iluleah]

Not like that, but made interesting reading........ a real sign of the times of our past social history

How attitudes have changed.....thankfully

[Jill on the A272]

Back in the 1980s I remember a colleague telling me that during the war they dispensed with their daily help and his father's idea of helping to dry the dishes was to hold them over the kitchen stove.

[iluleah]

I suppose thinking about my Grandparents in WW2 they had been married a few years, had a young toddler son and a new baby. Granddad was a farmer, so his brothers who also farmed with him served but he didn't, so he lost two people to run the fairly large farm, however replacing them were the POWs who used to come daily to work on the farm, so in that way there was more hands to work, whereas it would have been my Grandmother who cooked their lunch and fed them all.

[Rena]

I never thought to ask my grandmother for any stories about her life as a domestic to a town clerk or of the life of her mother who also worked as a domestic to a doctor.

I sort of feel sorry for the people whose servants left them in droves during WWI.  Mainly because they didn't know how to look after themselves or their children not having been taught how to cook or do any menial tasks.  Then there was the fashion of the day, when all their posh dresses were fastened at the back with extremely tiny buttons which needed a button hook 

Merry Christmas everyone

[dobfarm]

I suppose one had to feel sorry for them, and especially with rationing cards  of goodies that went with the posh life as well.

Ah Well !

Merry Xmas all and them normally insult words can be used one day a year

Get stuffed 

Dobs 

[Greensleeves]

During WW2 those with money wouldn't have gone hungry, despite food rationing:  food bought in restaurants did not require coupons.  Which explains why the fancy restaurants in London and other big cities thrived:  all those people with lots of money and no servants were reduced to having to dine out, poor souls.  What hardship.....   

[fifer1947]

Not similar as such but you can imagine the comments on twitter last night when, despite so many children homeless/reliant on foodbanks in UK, we had one newspaper bemoaning the fact that Sainsbury's had run out of organic milk! (comments along the lines of let them eat cake etc)

Sad to say we are now rapidly achieving levels of deprivation in UK not seen since the 30's. 

Sheesh don't get me started 

Season's greetings to you all 

[Greensleeves]

I agree Fifer; shameful situation, particularly as once again they are labelled as 'the undeserving poor'.  Reminder of when the rich used to go slumming to look at how the poor lived..... At least in those days many of the rich gave to the poor; nowadays the rich just try to invest their money to make them even richer. 

To quote fifer 'Sheesh, don't get me started'......