Connie Evans remembers rousing celebrations in London’s East End
When the war ended, we were still in the Army. We were told it was all over. I felt elated because I knew then that although we’d lost family, we knew those up in London, in the East End, were alive, and we could rebuild our lives.
It was a dead end, where we lived in Hillingdon, and we had permission to close the road off. We had a big party. First we gave all the children a big party then, in the evening, Mum’s piano came out of the house, onto the front path. My relatives from London had come down – we were all singing the old songs, dancing – Knees up Mother Brown and ballroom too – and having a great time.
My mum made sausage rolls and sandwiches. Everything was on rations so people gave my mum sultanas and currants and she made mince tarts with shortcrust pastry. There wasn’t a lot of money about but everybody put in what they could. There was drink there too of course but there wasn’t enough money to soak your bread in it – that’s a cockney expression.
King George V and Queen Mary admire the decorations
My brother and I we hired a charabanc and after the children had their party, we put all the kids in it and took them all around the East End, the docks, Oxford Street and Westminster because everywhere was decorated with electric lights all along. London was en fete, wherever you went. On Hackney Road, there was a man who decorated his house with chicken feathers dyed red, white and blue. He had a big photo of King George V on one side of his door and big photo of Queen Mary on the other side of his door. People came from miles around to see it. King George V and Queen Mary were in their car – it was a Rolls Royce with Bentleys for the people behind and in front of them. They stopped and one of the men got out and knocked on the door. The man and his wife came out and had a chat and King George V and Queen Mary went up the steps and looked at it all.
