Originally deposited as a CD-ROM.
An oral interview by South Cave U3A with Wendy Elliott. There are three sections to the interview
Public access copy available in Audio-Visual room.
Section a Duration: 58 mins
Section b Duration: 29 mins
Section c Duration: 3 mins 15 sec
Timing: Action on film
(00:01) Wendy is asked by the interviewer for her full name and details
(00:19) Her full name is Wendy Edwina Elliott. She was called Edwina after her grandfather Edwin. Her maiden name is Cousens. She was born on 6.10.33 at The Bungalow which was on Water Lane, but the address was just The Bungalow, West End, South Cave. Her father’s name was Thomas Hedley Cousens. The Cousens family has lived in South Cave for many years; they have been able to trace the family tree back to the sixteen or seventeen hundreds. Her father was the Secretary of the National Farmers’ Union. It was probably a voluntary position initially, but became a paid post once the union became involved in insurance. She was about 6 years old when he got the job. Before that they had been farming on rented a farm near Barnsley
(04:56) Her mother’s name was Dora Cousens, nee Nothard. The family lived in Reedness and her descendants lived in the house she now lives in, which is why it’s called Marshland House. Her Great Aunt Lottie who was also related to the Cousens family, lived in the house. She was Lottie Dennis and Wendy’s grandfather’s wife was Mary Dennis that was the link. They were farmers that bred Hackney horses
(07:00) She has two sisters Doreen Noel Cousens now Wells, who was born on Christmas Eve. She arrived two months early and only weighed 2lbs. The second sister is Kathleen Irene Cousens now Renfrew. The two sisters lived next door to each other for a time
(08:45) Her parents lived in The Bungalow until she got married in 1958. Hedley Close in South Cave is named after her father. Wendy and her husband Norman moved to the Old Vicarage now called The Priory. They shared it with Norman’s parents for about a year. They moved again, in 1960, to Marshland House when their first son Andrew was about 3 weeks old
(10:36) Wendy has three sons, Andrew, Mark and Timothy, who all live locally. Andrew lives in Wesley Close, Mark in Jobsons Close and Tim on Westwood Road in Beverley. None of them wanted to farm and there was no family farm to inherit
(11:50) She had a friend in West End called Jean Smith. Eileen Underwood nee Dunkin lived in half of the Manse that was next door. She was two years older than Wendy
(12:54) School Days Life in Water Lane, then called Elleker Lane. The Bungalow was the last house on the lane so it looked over fields. On the right hand side of the lane there were lots of tall trees and on the left there was a paddock which was always getting water logged. During the war they had a number of evacuees and some stayed in a Romany caravan, which Wendy remembered got stuck in the field and couldn’t be moved. There was always a steam roller at the corner of Annie Med Lane and Water Lane
(15:02) They would play in the fields around Annie Med Lane. Blues Farm had land to the right of Annie Med Lane with a big barn. One of the Blues’ sons used to climb on the roof of the barn and give a commentary on what he could see, which was quite amusing. There were two big ponds in fields on the left hand side of Annie Med Lane one on either side of the fence. The farmer at West End Farm, Jack Brown, kept his cows in that field and they were brought down twice a day to be milked
(17:30) During the war, in the 1940’s there were tanks in Bull Field where there were ramps built into the slope. The REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) were stationed in South Cave and they would carry out manoeuvres around the field. They would march from the Castle down to the dump twice every day at 8am and 5pm (see more at 21:42)
(19:18) Wendy went to Mr Brown’s regularly to collect milk in cans. It was a bit scary coming down Water Lane in the dark, as there were no lights. She was always frightened someone might jump out. Mr Mew grew very large artichokes on the right hand side. The blacksmith’s shop was on the corner of Water Lane and West End. Mr Mew’s barn came right up to the blacksmith’s shop and his house was next door to the Harrisons
(21:42) War.There was a pond on the left hand side of the slope up to Bull Field where they used to find tadpoles. During the war they were told not to pick up odd pieces of metal because they could be personnel bombs
(23:36).McDonalds of the Isles, who now live at Rudstone, had a Romany caravan with wooden wheels and oak panelling inside. An officer’s wife with her daughter stayed in it during the war while the officer was billeted at the Castle. The officer’s father lived with Wendy’s Great Aunt Lottie in Marshland House. The little girl was called Jean and was about 2 or 3 years old. She was found screaming on the top step of the caravan because she couldn’t find her Mum. It was about 2am and they were not sure where her Mum was. The family had probably been bombed out of their house in Hull. Families came to South Cave if they had lost their houses or to have proper sleep without worrying about the bombing
(26:43).Shops.All the families’ shoes were taken to the cobblers to be mended. The shop was where the paper shop is at West End. The cobbler held the tacks in his mouth. Mr Hornsey was the tailor, in the wooden shed that eventually became a fish shop. He used to sit cross legged on the counter. A girl called Louie Carr was a dressmaker and she lived in one of the cottages in West End. They are no longer there; they were where the doctor’s surgery used to be. Louie would make dresses for them and was trained by Madame Clapham in Hull. Madame Clapham was very well known, she was a Court dressmaker, making the dresses for ladies when they appeared at Court. At Chertsey Museum they have a dress made by Madame Clapham. Louie was very friendly with Wendy’s sister Doreen. They would draw an idea for a dress and then she would make it
(29:06).When she was 10 Wendy had music lessons with Mrs Jowett at the corner of Northfield, Joyce Jewett. When she was about 11 or 12 she went on to Mr Rossington, who lodged with Howard Smith. The dentist was Mr Goreham. She remembers a visit to the dentist being awful her teeth weren’t very good, she didn’t like injections. When she was about 21 she went to Hull and had her teeth completely removed, replacing them with false ones. This was before she was married. People often had teeth replaced with a false set, sometimes as a 21st birthday present
(31:35).School.She started school at South Cave when she was 5. When you opened the door of the Girl’s School it smelt of coke as there were steps down to the furnace room just opposite the entrance door. The Infants School had another door round the back; it had a coal fire. The teacher was Miss Kathy Johnson and the Upper School teacher was Miss Florence Dennis, both qualified teachers. Later on Barbara Dennis would help out. She was Tom Dennis’s daughter, but she wasn’t qualified
(34:08).Wendy remembers that there was a concrete wall round the school with metal bars above, which was to prevent balls going onto the road. The toilets, earth closets, were across the yard. They were told not to jump the beck by Miss Johnson, so they would hide until she left and then they’d have jumping competitions
(35:50).As a child she would have worn a liberty bodice. When she went to school in Goole she wore a gym slip. There was a scholarship to go to St Marys School in Hull but only two girls from South Cave passed, one was Mary Scott. Her parents paid for her sisters Doreen and Irene to go to Goole Grammar School; it was fee paying at that time. During the week Dorothy lived with an aunt in Reedness and came home at weekends. When the two of them were at Goole they caught the train at Brough. Wendy only used the train for about a year. There was an entrance exam by the time she went and it was no longer fee paying, but was supported by the Council, who also probably paid for transport. By the time she was in her second or third year Fosters Silverwings bus took them to Goole.
(38:50).Wendy’s mother made many of their clothes. They all did a lot of sewing. In wartime they had coupons so to make the most of them they bought felt for a skirt because it was cheap. They also knitted items, but nowadays it’s not much cheaper to knit than to buy a jumper
(39:40).Her mother had a weekly routine and Mrs Donkin who lived next door used to help with the washing. They had a roast dinner on Sunday; her mother was a good cook. Wendy remembers paraffin lamps, as there was no electricity. There was no bathroom
(40:40).She went to school in Goole at 11 years old and finished at about sixteen. She then went to Woods College in Hull to do shorthand and typing that was the type of course girls did. She worked in the Probation Service and eventually became secretary to the Chief Probation Officer in Hull. It was in New Cross Street and she was employed by Guild Hall
(43:06).When she was about 12, her sister Doreen played tennis at the Radcliffe’s house as they had a tennis court. Brian Copley, Bob Farthing and Evie Dennis also used to play. After the soldiers had left the Castle, they went to play there, on two hard courts where the swimming pool is now. It was owned by the Carmichaels at that time. They started to save money so that they could sew grass
(46:25).They also laid a privet hedge that was donated by someone from Brantingham. They borrowed Mr Carr’s little horse and cart and piled the pieces in. Eventually the horse was lifted off the ground and the cart broke
(47:35).They also played table tennis at South Cave Youth Club. They had a Drama Club. Jack Cross persuaded Janet Copley and herself to be Youth Club representatives and they went to Hull YPI for competitions
(49:29).Wendy remembers King Georges playing field with swings at the bottom of the hill. A sand pit backed onto the cow shed belonging to the Halls. At the top of the field there was a cone shaped round-a-bout, which they would jump on and off. Wendy played there but used to be accompanied by one of her sisters as it was at the opposite end of the village. It cost a halfpenny by bus from Market Place to West End
(51:55) Before she was married Wendy got a bus at West End. Norman, her future husband had a dog called Tim and dogs roamed freely at that time. One day she got on the bus and the dog got on with her and sat in the seat behind. She had to pay for the dog and let it off at Market Place
(52:55) While she was at Goole High School she can remember an air raid shelter at Pinfold. She caught the bus to school there with two boys from Elleker, a Needler and a Stabler, who left their bikes in her garden. The air raid shelter was made from brick with a concrete roof. It had a kind of entrance to shelter from a blast and a toilet at one end. Her father had a chicken hut for an air raid shelter. He dug it into the ground and covered it with earth, but the first winter it flooded, so they used to shelter under the mahogany kitchen table. A bomb fell near Mill Farm and Everthorpe that knocked out the windows of the Co-op; it was a large blast
(56:55) A number of Hull children were evacuated to South Cave. One Christmas they were performing a nativity and a confident seeming city girl was chosen to play Mary, but she got stage fright at the last minute and couldn’t do it
Section a ends at 58 minutes
DDX 1840-12-17 Section b
(00:07).This second session opens with a question about the Carmichaels and whether Wendy knew them. She replies that she knew them a little and remembers that one of them was killed on a tractor. Someone mentions that it was Jean and that they lived in The Lodge
(01:08).On being asked whether she got pocket money Wendy replied no, if she wanted some money she just asked for it, it wasn’t a regular payment. She spent money on sweets in Carr’s shop
(01:40).1947 was a very bad winter with a large snowfall and Wendy remembers Italian prisoners of war in Beverley Road. One of the prisoners was a sculptor and they made figures in the snow on Station Road. Her sister Doreen remembers going to see them
(03:19).She doesn’t really remember the Abdication, but she was told by her mother that as a small girl she would lift up a glass and say “Mrs Simpson”
(03:47).There was a South Cave Pageant when Wendy was a young girl. She has photos of her and her two sisters dressed as flowers in the Castle grounds. She was a daisy and Doreen and Irene were red rose and pink rose. Her Dad was dressed as an ugly sister in Cinderella
(05:25).As a teenager she joined the Youth Club and table tennis club. Stan Daniels ran the Youth Club; they would go on holidays, she one was to Scotland. They also went to Bournemouth, the New Forest area. Norman, her husband, was in charge and he was only about two years older than them. About sixteen of them went and she remembers seeing glow worms
(06:36).The Youth Club was held weekly in the Church Institute. They played table tennis, darts and performed plays. U3A has copies of the programmes of the plays that were performed
(07:45).Guides and Brownies She was a brownie but can’t remember who ran the pack. You had to go to Brough for guides. She went to stay with a cousin in Doncaster, who was also a brownie, so she went to visit her pack. This started a correspondence between the Doncaster and South Cave brownies organised by the Brown Owls
(08:50) The Church She was in the choir; there were about 12 to15 members. Her Dad was a member along with Eleanor Tomlinson and Mr Arthur Smith, the butcher. Mr Charlesworth or Charlton was the organist. The choir was usually there at morning service. There were plaques of the 10 Commandments on the side of the altar; the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer were on the right. They’ve since been removed. They went round the village carol singing
(10:19) There was a confirmation class taken by Mrs Graham, but she doesn’t remember a Sunday School. When she was in her early twenties after she had met Norman but before she had children, she was a Sunday School leader
(13:36) Transport She used trains and buses, travelling to work on the bus. She caught the ten minutes to the hour which took an hour as it travelled all round the villages. Although she never used the South Cave train she remembers her Dad using it to go to work
(15:12) Characters in the village There was a man in the village whose nick name was Spink. He used to live with Jack Brown and his wife at West End Farm. He’d drive cattle down Water Lane and you would see him with his horse and cart. He was an exceptionally good artist although it was not known who his father was and he was a bit ‘simple’
(17:01) Frank Jude who worked at Parkside Farm, was an amusing chap. When people were making fun of him because he couldn’t get up the hay stack and he had to be helped up, he was cross about needing help so he said he’d get down and get up again by himself. He once fell into the beck with a new scuttle. Miss Butterfield and the Addisons are mentioned by the interviewers, but Wendy can’t remember them
(18:48) Dr Thompson was the doctor when she was born. She didn’t go to a dentist until she was working. She remembers a time when her mother combed her hair with a small toothed comb over newspaper on the table, presumably because she had nits. There were a number of evacuees at school so there were three to a desk and it was suggested that they brought the nits into school
(21:01) Alsie Cross was the hairdresser in the village; Wendy and her mother had their hair done there
(22:00) Changes in the Village Street lighting and deep drainage were brought into the village probably in the late 50’s. Previously they had earth closets. It was a long time after before gas was introduced
(23:08) There have been changes to Wendy’s house. One end may have been a barn in the seventeen to eighteen hundreds. It was one up and one down at the other end. Her great great grandfather’s sister enlarged the house in about 1815 as the family got bigger
(24:58) Chestnut Villa belonged to Edward Cousens her grandfather. The house was all one in her grandfather’s time but it’s now divided into three, two at the front plus a flat at the back. Jack and Jean Kent’s house was built in the garden
(26:00) A discussion follows about a place in a photograph that they are having problems identifying
Section b ends at 29 minutes
DDX 1840-12-17 Section c
Section c continues the description of The Priory formerly known as the Old Vicarage
(00:03) The main house had a big hall and three main reception rooms. There was a separate area that contained Norman’s grandmother’s kitchen and utility room. Wendy’s kitchen was near the front door, it had been the Butler’s Pantry, so it had a sink. Their bedroom was up the back stairs and at the top there were two bedrooms on their side. One of the three reception rooms was their sitting room. There were four bedrooms off the main staircase and a bathroom, so originally there were seven bedrooms. There was also a garage and a stable. The people who now own it call it the Old Priory and are making a number of changes
Section c ends at 3 minutes 15 seconds
Public access copy available on Preservica: https://eastriding.access.preservica.com/
(Search 'DDX1840/12/17')
