Winifred and Donald Gowing
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.
To the right of the page I have drawn up the relevant miniature family tree. In the case of a subject marrying more than once, only the marriage relevant to our family is shown.
This Photograph on the left was taken on 5th May 1939, at the Waltur Studios, High street Walthamstow a year before they were married.
Married at the Brethren Hall, Kings Head Hill, Chingford,
Essex.23rd March 1940
Left
to right, Sarah Ethel Gowing, Alfred Peacham, Donald Jack, Winifred May,
Bridesmaid Lilian Deacon, John Benjamin and Annie Elizabeth.
23rd March 1940," Win" and "Don" had a short time together before the Second World War took Don away. They were living at 15, Ruthven Avenue, Waltham Cross, Herts. along with his Mother, Sarah Ethel, and her brother Raymond Leslie. Audrey Ann was born 6th January, 1941. Donald Jack received his orders to report to RAF Cardington (near Bedford) in February and later was ordered to report to Blackpool and from that point on he was in the hands of the RAF.
Winifred May with Audrey Ann at 20 months old, September 1942.
Audrey Ann Gowing 3 years old
(artificially coloured)
Donald was soon on his way, first to Lincolnshire, then to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire where he worked on his first aircraft (a Wellington bomber) and then on to the Middle East. He stayed there until mid 1943, moving around and generally staying out of trouble, before leaving for Malta. From there it was on to Sicily stopping at various towns and villages, with a brief sojourn around the slopes of Mount Etna, and then on to Italy.
In these few years Donald saw more of the world than most people see in a lifetime, he traveled from Italy, back to Scotland, England ,the Orkney Islands, Belgium, overland to Germany and finally back to England and civilian life. The date was about November 20th, 1945.
Donald Jack has very vivid memories about his time with the RAF, some happy, some not quite so happy. I have reduced those years to two paragraphs but the full story, in his own words, can be read here.
In the mean time, life in England had been no bed of roses, Winifred May was living in a new house, with her mother in law, her mother in law's brother, and a new baby, and the world was at war. Waltham Cross escaped fairly lightly compared with areas to the south in London but nevertheless for the people at the time it must have been a very traumatic time. The pictures below show the devastation in Ruthven Avenue when a land mine landed on waste ground opposite the houses and exploded, destroying the concrete road and showering debris over a wide area and causing unbelievable damage. Although their house was not directly hit, it still suffered damage, and the Family was moved out to temporary accommodation. No one in the family was hurt.
These photographs were taken by the late Mr. A .A. Pollard. The vehicle in one of the pictures is a Fishpool's van assisting in the recovery of furniture. Ruthven Avenue, Waltham Cross. 1944
The pictures above show all that is left of Messrs Chadwick and Shapcott's Acorn Brush Works after being struck by a V2 rocket on the 2nd January 1945. The top picture was taken one hour after the strike, the lower picture was taken twenty four hours after the strike. The factory was in the high Street, Waltham Cross the grounds backed on to the gardens of the houses in Ruthven Avenue.
The family were rehoused a little later at 9, Ruthven Avenue an stayed there for a few years before moving on to 9b, Balmoral Close, but not before the birth of Keith John in 1945 and Sandra Evelyn in 1947. (Pictured below, with Audrey Ann). Donald's mother Sarah Ethel and her brother Raymond Leslie stayed at 9, Ruthven Avenue before moving to Springfield Road, Waltham Cross.
The First and third photographs were taken in 1945, two months after the birth of Keith John. At the time Audrey Ann was just under five years old. The centre picture is Audrey Ann, Keith John and Sandra Evelyn.
9b, Balmoral Close was a block of large "flats" one of several built to the same pattern. They were three stories high and the family lived on the middle floor, it was here that Marilyn Joy (1950) Terry Raymond (1951) and Colin Richard (1955) were born. These flats are remembered with something less than affection by those that can recall the time spent living there. Keith John remembers vividly the water pipes running along the walls on the OUTSIDE of the building, frequently used as a step ladder by the children and every winter time the water freezing and the pipes bursting. Donald Jack recalls the rain leaking through the roof when the weather was particularly bad, not unusual you may think until you remember the family were living on the middle floor!
The 1953 Coronation celebrations in Balmoral Close. In the background are the "Flats". To the left is the end view of "B" block where the family Gowing were living at the time, three girls, two boys. Robin Hood in the picture is Keith John.
After the birth of Colin Richard, the family moved on to Cheshunt and a brand new four bedroomed house at 12, Briar Close. Although the house was new, the garden was an absolute disaster, exactly as the builders had left it. Donald Jack was given his instructions to the effect of footpaths, washing lines and the like, as some sort of track was needed to cross from one side of the "swamp" to the other, during this period he drained a duck pond and in digging over the garden in the spare time he managed to find, he unearthed enough good quality bricks to built a small structure in the garden to use for coal storage, and lay a sound footing for a conservatory on the side of the house. The garden was leveled off and some was grassed, three trees were planted, an apple, peach, and Victoria plum tree, over the years all three trees bore fruit of varying amounts.
Before and after. In the top picture clearly seen is a pile of bricks still left after Donald Jack had built the "coal bunker" (In the picture behind Terry's new car). The picture below shows the wonderful display of dahlias and the wooden fence Donald built to give the house a little privacy from the adjoining footpath.
At work Donald Jack received further promotions and things were generally looking good for the family. The kitchen was rebuilt to make room for a washing machine and refrigerator, and the coal fire was replaced by an electric one. The "coal bunker" became the home of the families pets until Donald Jack knocked it down many years later. The pathway mentioned earlier run alongside the garden and led to various green playing areas for the local children, unfortunately it was a while before Donald Jack was able to put a gate in place as for some reason one had not been provided.
Use up the bricks. A slightly raised section of the garden solved the problem of the abundance of earth, neatly finished off with an ornamental brick wall surrounding it. A swing was later added, and a peach tree planted.
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