Jessie's War

Jessie’s War

My Mum, Jessie Lovell, was just 20 when the war broke out.

Since leaving school at 14 Mum had enjoyed a series of jobs, working as a junior and typist in the grand old Bristol firms of Fred Morgan and Purimachos. A tiny, bubbly girl with a good sense of humour, the coming of the war meant that Jessie took a job as a “clippie”, or conductor, on the buses, a job that was to last right through the war.

This is my Mum’s story, as she told it to me.

The Blitz

Mum never forgot the first air-raid sirens. They sounded as they were holding her Dad’s funeral.

Bristol was heavily bombed in the blitz and the family had an Anderson shelter buried in the back garden of the house in Bedminster. Many nights the sirens would sound and signal the family to make their way to the shelter. Nights were spent trying to snatch some sleep, or singing. With Mum’s voice most would have preferred to sleep!

Mum remembered one particular night when they wondered “who’s chopping sticks at this time of night?” That was the sound of the incendiaries falling on the roofs around them, with men clambering across rooftops with stirrup pumps to put out the flames.

Many shops were severely damaged in the raids. Mum told with great sadness about the shoe shop where everyone was helping themselves – sadness because her big sister wouldn’t let her join in while everyone else walked of with nice, new shoes!

The Buses

The war brought a new freedom to many young women like Jessie but it was not an easy life. She would be up before dawn and have to walk a couple of miles to the bus station to take out the first buses of the day, carrying the men to work in the docks and factories. The last bus at night also meant a long walk home.

Mum never forgot the fun and camaraderie she found. Being so small and young she was teased unmercifully by both the drivers and the passengers. The drivers’ favourite trick being to pull away when she was off the bus, and keep just ahead of her chasing down the street. The passengers would love to chat her up, hoping that she wouldn’t notice that it was yesterday’s ticket in their hand.

Not everything was fun. As a clippie, Mum got to see a lot of the damage from the blitz. The tram system was bombed, ending the Bristol trams for ever. Castle Street and Old Market, the city centre of the day, in ruins, with fire crews trying to douse the flames.

But the buses had to keep on running. Sometimes, in the blackout, full of fog and smog from the weather and fires, Mum had to walk in front of the bus with a torch, leading the way and looking for bomb craters in the road. Roads were closed from fallen buildings and unexploded bombs, but the buses had to get through.

The Romance

Mum met Wilf Elliott on the 99 bus from Bristol to Avonmouth.

Wilf (Dad) had been refused entry to the army as he was a carpenter / joiner - then a reserved occupation - but as the war progressed more men were needed and in June 1943 Dad was called up.

The courtship was a whirlwind. Within four days Dad had proposed. Not the most romantic occasion – Dad took out a ring-sizing card in the cinema to make sure the engagement ring would fit.

Within a few more days Dad was in the Welch Regiment, and the wedding snaps showed him in full battledress, Mum in a wedding dress. There was a single night’s honeymoon, and even then no passion, as they were under orders from Jessie’s small but formidable mother that nothing should happen. Just in case he didn’t come back. Then Dad left for Burma for three years.

The Return

Mum carried on with the buses for the duration. Dad fought in Burma against the Japanese and against jungle diseases. Mum went through agonies as everyone celebrated VE day, knowing that Wilf fought on until the war in the East ended.

Months after the end of the war, Dad was finally discharged and returned to Bristol, arriving without any warning. In these times of rationing, mum cooked up the biggest feast she could think of – bread and jam!

Mum never did live that meal down, though Dad didn’t hold it against her. That four-day courtship led to a 25-year marriage, lasting until Wilf’s death in 1968, just after their silver anniversary. Not a bad result from that four-day romance.

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