Interview With Nanny Eileen Spencer
Eileen Spencer, my paternal grandmother
Born Eastleigh, Hampshire 1918
My mother (Florence Maxted) was a barmaid in Southampton. My fathers family (of Percy Spencer) wouldn't accept her for a long time. When I was born they said 'Oh, not another redhead in the family!'. The Thorns, who'd said it, then went on to have 5 redheads of their own! They were Harry Thorn, etc. As time went on though and the children were getting older the family came to accept them. Dads brother, Vic, was landlord of the Trafalgar, after which he was a gamekeeper in Norfolk.
Of parents Percy Spencer and Florence Maxted:
Dad met my mum in Southampton during the first world war. My mothers parents used to live in Nine Elms in London. My dad was on the boats. They moved to Dover where Johnny was born, then to Parkeston Road where the other three children were born, and then 26 Oakland Road where Arnold was born. My mothers family was of Irish extraction. My dad liked fishing, gardening and cooking. My mother had two sisters, Mary the youngest and Norah, and two brothers Harry and Bill the oldest. My mum was the third born. My mum was a barmaid before she married my father. They met in the bar.
My parents used to keep a boarding house at 2 Silberton Villas, Lee Road, Dovercourt. It was there that George Harrison and I married. Mum let the house to visitors.
Dad met my mum in Southampton during the first world war. My mothers parents used to live in Nine Elms in London. My dad was on the boats. They moved to Dover where Johnny was born, then to Parkeston Road where the other three children were born, and then 26 Oakland Road where Arnold was born. My mothers family was of Irish extraction. My dad liked fishing, gardening and cooking. My mother had two sisters, Mary the youngest and Norah, and two brothers Harry and Bill the oldest. My mum was the third born. My mum was a barmaid before she married my father. They met in the bar.
My parents used to keep a boarding house at 2 Silberton Villas, Lee Road, Dovercourt. It was there that George Harrison and I married. Mum let the house to visitors.
Of romancing with George Harrison:
I was 17 when I went to Wales to meet George's people. George had no money, there was never much to save. He got £3 a week back then. We used to go ballroom dancing, and to the pub, though I wouldn't drink, and to the pictures. There were four picture places. We also used to go on long walks. I didn't have any other boyfriends, well, I had a couple! George had a girlfriend in Croydon from Brynmawr. She kept writing to him but he didn't have anything more to do with her. He was in his 20's and didn't want to be tied down. George wouldn't take me in a pub when he took me to Wales. It was terrible for a woman to go in the pubs there. They'd be the lowest of the low if they did.
I was 17 when I went to Wales to meet George's people. George had no money, there was never much to save. He got £3 a week back then. We used to go ballroom dancing, and to the pub, though I wouldn't drink, and to the pictures. There were four picture places. We also used to go on long walks. I didn't have any other boyfriends, well, I had a couple! George had a girlfriend in Croydon from Brynmawr. She kept writing to him but he didn't have anything more to do with her. He was in his 20's and didn't want to be tied down. George wouldn't take me in a pub when he took me to Wales. It was terrible for a woman to go in the pubs there. They'd be the lowest of the low if they did.
Of Percy Spencer:
Dad always wore ties around his trousers instead of a belt. He cooked by 'pepper and salt and common sense'. He made radishes look like roses. He was a proper food decorator. He didn't care for what anyone thought. He wouldn't have altered his ways for the Queen! He always wore a cap in and outdoors. He was a dry stick in the mud. He didn't want to give me away to George. He said 'I don't want to give away what I want myself'. He never liked dressing up. He used to roll his own cigarettes. He drank alcohol, as all men working on the boats did, until he got ulcer trouble. My mother never drank. My dad never used to eat much. He'd come home and eat a raw egg and sherry mixed together.
Dad always wore ties around his trousers instead of a belt. He cooked by 'pepper and salt and common sense'. He made radishes look like roses. He was a proper food decorator. He didn't care for what anyone thought. He wouldn't have altered his ways for the Queen! He always wore a cap in and outdoors. He was a dry stick in the mud. He didn't want to give me away to George. He said 'I don't want to give away what I want myself'. He never liked dressing up. He used to roll his own cigarettes. He drank alcohol, as all men working on the boats did, until he got ulcer trouble. My mother never drank. My dad never used to eat much. He'd come home and eat a raw egg and sherry mixed together.
When I was 14 years old I worked at Bernards Tailoring Factory in Harwich making sailors suits.
When I was 15 years old I helped my mother with visitors.
In the wartime I worked in an aircraft factory at Eastleigh in Hampshire making parts. We lived in Eastleigh during the war.
Other work I did was in various kiosks. First I worked in a hot dog stall, then in a kiosk selling coffees and teas, then a cafeteria and that was all on the beach front. Then I was in schools as a cook for 20 years and retired at the age of 65. It was at the Bathside School which has been pulled down now.
When I was 15 years old I helped my mother with visitors.
In the wartime I worked in an aircraft factory at Eastleigh in Hampshire making parts. We lived in Eastleigh during the war.
Other work I did was in various kiosks. First I worked in a hot dog stall, then in a kiosk selling coffees and teas, then a cafeteria and that was all on the beach front. Then I was in schools as a cook for 20 years and retired at the age of 65. It was at the Bathside School which has been pulled down now.