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In January 1929, in a grimy, working-class neighborhood on the south bank of the Thames, Eileen Gwynneth Yvonne Redfern was born. From her inauspicious beginning as the unwelcome third occupant of Old Ma Tanner's one-room apartment on Coin Street to an eighteen-year-old on the brink of university life, author Gwen Southgate weaves a fascinating story of a vanished time and a way of life on London's old south bank.
In this memoir, telling tales of the 1930s and 1940s, Gwen provides a glimpse into a broader tapestry portraying the sweep of life in Britain as seen through the eyes of a young girl. Among its many colorful and lively characters are the big-hearted, chain-smoking Aunt-mum; yarn-spinning, practical joker Grampa Benson; and Gwen's feisty, much-married mother. After a wartime evacuation from London opens wider horizons, Gwen shares how she managed to survive in a world where the mere stealing of a spoonful of rice pudding could lead to dire consequences and even the enjoyment of a Sunday walk was condemned as sinful.
Coin Street Chronicles paints a vivid and captivating portrait of Britain and her people before, during, and after World War II.
HGPton
Posted February 20, 2010
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This is an autobiography of Gwen Southgate's childhood growing up in an impoverished area of London before and during the 2nd World War. Gwen has a beautiful writing style that makes every page enjoyable and the book hard to put down. As a social history it is invaluable, Gwen has the knack of bringing to life the ordinary details of everyday living back in those days and her memory is very clear. She also vividly describes her own feelings of shyness, awkwardness at times and happiness in a way that furthers one's understanding of how a child thinks. This book would make a good teaching tool in schools and colleges and makes an excellent gift for young and old alike.
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Posted December 11, 2009
Gwen Southgate's life as a young girl during World War II is a fascinating read. It depicts her early years living in Waterloo, a rundown section of London, at the beginning of World War II, and her evacuation to the country to get away from the bombing raids.
Starting at the tender age of ten and ending in 1945 at the age of sixteen, Gwen is moved from place to place at least six times and has to adjust to living with several different families in often harsh conditions. In spite of the constant upheaval there is an optimism that runs throughout Ms. Southgate's narrative which is endearing and heartwarming. Although she is wrenched away from her mother and her familiar surroundings, Gwen finds herself liberated in many ways. She thrives on her freedom away from the city and embraces the beauty of the countryside to which she has previously had no exposure. The schools she attends allow her natural gift for learning to develop, away from the stifling working class culture and teasing of her peers in Waterloo. At first the teachers are intrigued by the fact that she speaks with a strong cockney accent but writes in elegant prose learned from the one book her family possesses.
Ms. Southgate writes about herself with the innocence and honesty of a young girl, with sensitivity and humor. You feel you are right there with her, experiencing what is happening to her at that moment. A couple of examples of Gwen's world are, first, when she is ten and asks her mother if she can go to the library to get a book, and her mother tells her that the library "ain't for the likes of us". Gwen sees the word "public" in front of library and assumes that it must mean posh and that she can't go because she is working class. For the same reason she misses going swimming in the public swimming pool until someone sets her straight. Second, one summer, at the age of fourteen, she is sent to a farm with her school mates to dig vegetables. They find themselves working alongside some Italian prisoners of war. One of the girls keeps disappearing at lunchtime (Gwen can't think why), and is finally sent away for "fraternizing with the POWs". Gwen knows the work "frater" means brother in Latin and can't figure out what a brother has to do with her friend being expelled.
Gwen's sweet nature shines out through all the difficulties of her childhood. She never spurns her family or background, even though she feels suffocated and restricted by them when she returns home for the school vacations.
Coin Street Chronicles is a beautifully written book. Ms. Southgate gives us a most valuable and interesting historic record of war time Britain in a very personal story.
Overview
In January 1929, in a grimy, working-class neighborhood on the south bank of the Thames, Eileen Gwynneth Yvonne Redfern was born. From her inauspicious beginning as the unwelcome third occupant of Old Ma Tanner's one-room apartment on Coin Street to an eighteen-year-old on the brink of university life, author Gwen Southgate weaves a fascinating story of a vanished time and a way of life on London's old south bank.
In this memoir, telling tales of the 1930s and 1940s, Gwen ...