The Allotment Girls by Kate Thompson

Author:Kate Thompson [Kate Thompson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2018-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

PART TWO

Fourteen

SATURDAY, 17 JULY 1943

‘The Queen’s coming here? To Bryant & May? Pull the other one, it’s got brass bells on,’ Millie scoffed.

‘I can assure you, Mrs Brown, it’s perfectly true,’ the chairman replied, amusement shining in his eyes.

‘Sorry, sir,’ she babbled. ‘Only, well, it’s bloody marvellous is what it is, ain’t it, Annie?’

Millie nudged Annie.

‘Oh, it certainly is, sir,’ she replied. ‘May I ask why?’

‘Her Royal Highness visited Bethnal Green last month. Did you see it in the newspapers?’

The girls nodded. You could have hardly escaped the fact. The Queen’s trip to visit the allotments dug out of the ruins of Bethnal Green’s bombsites, accompanied by the Mayor, a Pathé film unit and other hoi polloi had caused quite the stir! Especially when a goat had tried to eat Her Majesty’s handbag.

‘Our neighbours in Bethnal Green are doing some outstanding work for the Dig for Victory campaign,’ he went on. ‘The Bethnal Green Bombed Sites Producers’ Association has only been going for fourteen months, but they have four hundred members growing vegetables on thirty bombed sites in the district. It’s the talk of London.’

He paused to pick up a copy of The Times newspaper and read out loud: ‘Thousands of shirkers might feel ashamed of themselves if they could see what people are doing in Bethnal Green. This experiment shows that with hard work and relatively little money, even East Enders can make their contribution to food production . . .’

‘Even East Enders? Cheeky sods!’ Millie squawked, until Mrs Frobisher laid a silencing hand over hers.

‘Let the chairman continue, please,’ she chided softly.

‘Naturally, this makes very good propaganda material and—’

‘You’re keen for Bryant & May to get in on the act, sir,’ Millie grinned, casting him a sly wink.

‘Well, I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, Mrs Brown, but I’m certainly not averse to showing off the fine work that’s being achieved at Bryant & May. Now, I have it on good authority Her Majesty will do us the honour of a visit next spring.’

‘Next spring,’ Annie gasped.

‘That should give you ample time to make sure the allotments are looking their best. The Palace is particularly interested to see how we are producing vegetables alongside matches. Rumour has it she will be accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, who will be handing out Certificates of Merit.’

‘This is your big chance, girls, to show the allotments off to the whole country,’ beamed Mrs Frobisher. Annie had never seen the usually composed factory matriarch so enthused.

‘Indeed. You are a credit to the factory,’ added the chairman. ‘I’ll admit, Miss Trinder, I had my doubts when you first approached me with this idea. I couldn’t see how you could possibly grow vegetables from a bombsite, but, well, you’ve done it.’

‘We’ve done it, sir,’ Annie corrected. ‘Without Ted and the other firemen, and of course Samuel Taylor from Bomber Command, it would never have got off the ground.’

‘Aah, of course, and what word of our special volunteer?’

A silence fell over the room. Millie fiddled with her wedding ring.

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