| Description | An interview with Nora CROSBEE, a married woman with one son, two daughters, who is a Assisted husbands business, born in Birmingham and now living in Birmingham. Nora CROSBEE’s father was a Hotel waiter, born in England and her mother a Housewife born in England. In the interview, she talks about …
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I was born in 1926….I’m a cradle Catholic… and I went to school at The Oratory…At the age of 10 I sat the entrance exam to St. Paul’s High School…. Evacuated to Hereford at age 13. Remembers roller-skating with boys, says she was a tomboy. Returned to Birmingham but re-evacuated aged 15. Felt education was severely disrupted. Father took sick when she was 16.
3.15 Parents had to pay school fees. Able to have free education in Smethwick but parents wanted a Catholic school. Nora felt she had no chance of passing School Cert.
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Remembers school grounds used as trenches during the war and area was burial ground for monks.
1.30 Anecdote about wearing shorts instead of dresses during an Indian summer. English teacher asked her, “Are those shorts you’ve got on Nora?”…she reports me to the Headmistress Sister Veronica, so of course the next day at school, I’m summoned to the Headmistress’ room….
3.44 I left school when I was 16. Went to work at a firm of artificial limb-makers in Broad Street. Had no specific career aims but knew she didn’t want to work in an office.
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Anecdote about conflict with fellow workers who thought she was superior.
Boss paid for Nora to learn typing, but caused resentment.
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Friend told her about a job at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Not suitable, so told to go to the General Hospital. Taken on as office junior.
1.35 Bates, a fellow worker, taught her the ropes. He even took me up a spiral staircase and out onto the roof where we could look into an operating theatre. But we had to be careful hiding behind a chimney stack because if anybody had looked up and seen us we’d have been in trouble.
2.14 Anecdote about going to the basement mortuary.
4.37 Transferred to ‘follow up’ Dept. that controlled the cancer clinics.
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Talks about her knowledge of cancerous symptoms helping when dealing with her own breast cancer.
1.55 Liked the hospital work but didn’t pay well so moved to Export Dept. of Philips Cycles.
4.35 Promoted to higher division. Used to work overtime every night.
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Anecdote about problems of others in the office keeping up with the workload.
1.24 We didn’t get paid for that overtime, we didn’t put in for it, but afterwards the Export Manager, the big noise, had us both separately in his office, thanked us for what we did, then we both got a rise, so that was better than being paid overtime…
2.00 A girl that I worked with said that the Young Conservatives in Bearwood had a recruitment drive….would you like to come with me to join? Yeah, you know, anything for a laugh… We both decided to join. Course, that was the beginning of me coming out of my shell…. I joined the Young conservatives and that was where I met my husband.
3.10 Taught public speaking. Entered competition and won as a team.
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Young Conservatives had a big influence and she eventually became the secretary of the Bearwood group.
1.15 Anecdote about meeting her husband at YC. Got married when aged 28.
2.41 We had a bit of an on and off courtship. I think the main stumbling block, he says it wasn’t but it was, the fact that I’m a Catholic and he isn’t…. But eventually when he learn’t from another girl that I was thinking of leaving the Bearwood Conservative Club and joining Edgbaston because I was sick of him being on and off with me…
4.28 We married in my church of course, and Roger had to get himself baptised before we could get married…then after we were married he got himself confirmed. That was a very difficult time. We were married in 1954…. Used to have our religious arguments…agreed to differ…
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57” Regarding the children’s religious upbringing: He didn’t feel that he was bound by the promise he made before we were married, when he had to sign a paper that the children would be brought up as catholics, because he felt that it was a promise extracted under duress….
1.52 Daughter’s children do not attend church. Son is disillusioned.
3.32 Anecdote about talking to parish priest about birth control. “do you think they’ll relax the rule on birth control father?….We’ve had 3 children and we practice birth control”. “Is your conscience clear about it ?”,….If we hadn’t taken precautions I’d have had a child every year…I hadn’t got time to go out to work running a home and family..
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Felt bored staying at home. If I don’t have some adult company I’m going to go barmy!
1.28 Husband saw advert asking for women to join a social group, an American Sorority. But it wasn’t what they expected.
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Decided to set up own women’s discussion group from within the same road. Organised cultural events and visits.
1.26 It was quite a nice little group really. Well then somebody left and someone else wanted to join and this one girl said, “oh, it won’t be the same if she comes”. I said, “well you can’t keep her out”. And eventually it degenerated into, instead of having intelligent conversation, into gossip and I got fed up with it…
2.34 Leaflet arrived asking if she would be interested in forming a TownsWomens Guild . Nora is one of the original members.
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Explains the workings of the TG.
1.05 Birmingham is the most active federation in the whole movement…
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Wanted to give birth to first child at home but doctor advised against it. The next 2 children were born at home.
1.38 Anecdote about giving birth in hospital.
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Anecdote about giving birth at home.
1.04 Different midwife for 3rd birth. She decided she would go home, and my mother said, “you shouldn’t leave my daughter, that baby’s going to be born by 8 o’clock”….Mother went home….the crown of the head was born on the loo! ….I had to stagger out, get to the bedroom….then the doorbell went and Roger went down, grabbed her arm and said, “never mind your bike, get upstairs the baby’s arrived!”….
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Continues anecdote about home birth.
Thinks that too much fuss is made in hospital to delivering babies.
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Continues opinion on hospital deliveries.
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Describes working with husband from 1971 onwards, who is a silversmith.
Details some of the work they undertook.
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Continues to describe the work.
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Continues to describe the work.
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Discusses Townswomens’ Guild. It is non-sectarian, non-political and non-racist, which means that the only stipulation is that you’ve got to be a woman to join. All ideas can have a common meeting place…
1.51 In 1994, I had my arm twisted to go onto the executive committee of the Birmingham Federation….When I joined there were 32 guilds all over Birmingham…there are now 28…Explains the work of the guilds.
3.20 Anecdote about a visit to Brussels.
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Continued.
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I define my identity as English, although I’m actually Irish on both my father and mothers side….Due to the troubles in Ireland I prefer to forget that….One time I very nearly gave up my faith because of the troubles in Ireland, particularly after the bombing in Birmingham. Gives her views.
3.03 Anecdote about a friend who died without strong beliefs.
3.47 I thank god every day that I’m a Catholic…The older I get the more convinced I am that it is the one true faith….
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Continued.
ENDS. |