Bulldog Spirit Chapter 1

The British Bulldog Spirit

INTRODUCTION

This is to be the true-life story of an Englishman, from my childhood to the year 1999. It tells of struggle and of strife, serving my country for 6 years, of the love that endured throughout and until the Good Lord decided that my sweetheart was needed in heaven.

I was born of a woman of a working class family in the year 1917, during the days of the British Empire.

During the years of war the English, the Irish, the Welsh and the Scots were comrades in arms. They were fighting a fool who did not really represent my country but who managed to create devastation throughout the World. I feel that the British Isles should always remain together as one, my life very often depended on each and everyone and their lives depended on me.

Please enjoy the story for on the completion, I wish to join my sweetheart. My life is empty without her.

THE BEGINNING — CHILDHOOD

You are about to read a very interesting and true story, it is romantic in many ways, it’s all about life as it was ¾ of a century ago and as it is today. It is the story of Frederick Arthur Broadley, born on December 9th1917 to a working class family. My story will be related in several chapters. 1.)Childhood. 2.) Adolescence 3). 6 years serving my country 4.) My return to the country that I was really proud of 5). My love, my marriage, my family 6). Today at 81yrs of age, living alone, feeling lost and forgotten in this modern world of turmoil.

My father was a boiler- maker working for one of the Burton on Trent breweries, Mother was endeavouring to cope with three children, for I had two sisters, Winifred the elder and Evelyn the baby. I was the first born it is important that I tell you at this point that my Mother, though she was a real dark haired beauty, did suffer problems with her heart, having passed through the trauma of pneumatic fever at the age of 19yrs. I was not more than 4yrs old when my Father left home. I have a faint recollection of my Father, he was taking me alone to his home town of York to visit his Mother. In my memory I can see a faint picture of me on his shoulders entering what appeared to be a large room, with beaded curtains constructed to form a beautiful picture and Grandmother was approaching us. She was dressed in what appeared to be a long black gown. Later I was told by an Uncle that she owned a restaurant but that she was a very eccentric person. She never wore dresses, always purchased lengths of material which was tied and pinned around her. She also had a hobby that was flying in hot-air balloons. I did not go off with another woman. We believe he did accumulate considerable debts and like a coward, ran away from them, we still do not have any details. You can rest assured I have no respect for his memory because throughout our childhood and to this very day he never contacted us. My Mother passed away at the age of 46yrs, during my 5yrs overseas serving my King and country. Having introduced you to my background I will now endeavour to relate my childhood of so many years ago and of the conditions as they were during that period for a working class family.

Mother did have several Brothers and Sisters; an elder Sister had recently married and was volunteering to give assistance by caring for one of the children. She would take the boy and bring him up. She was married to a miner and lived at Coalville in Leicestershire. They had purchased an ‘end of row’ two up and two down. I at the age of 4 — 4 ½ years was taken away from my Mother and Sisters to live with Aunt Lou at Coalville. Not very pleasant for a boy of those tender years and matters did not improve due to the fact that Aunt Lou did not generate much Mother Love at all. I had to start school, many people find it hard to believe that Aunty Lou did not rise from her bed to get me ready for school, I prepared myself for school and got my breakfast. It had been arranged that a boy living a few doors away would call and escort me to the appropriate classroom and teachers. There is a little bright spot here, for I was always proud of the fact that the boy who escorted me to school, was to become a Leicester City footballer and well known, his name was Hughie Adcock.

I attended school regularly always trying to do as I was told and accept the knowledge that was given to me but never really looking for more because I was never encouraged to do so. Mine was an existence from day to day. Very often I was fighting the cause of smaller children who were getting bullied. I had a nickname, I was called Bulldog Broadley.

At 10yrs of age Auntie Lou said I would soon have to look for paid jobs. ‘ Did I not realise that my Uncle was having to work to provide the food I was eating’. Fridays after school, market day that is, quite a number of odd jobs were found, fetching and carrying for stall holders. On Saturday mornings I found work with a headmaster, gardening. Other times there were errands from the Co-operative Society Stores and a newsagents gave me a small job. On the very rare occasion I was allowed to spend the odd penny (only a penny mind!). I would go to the front row of the grand Cinema in Coalville. Usually the matinees were westerns, if not a western it was Our Gang (an American Comedy for children). This pleasant hour always passed so quickly, a penny didn’t go far even in them days. Of course on Sunday and every Sunday, Sunday School at the Ebeneezer Baptist Chapel and taking part in the annual sermons. On one of these occasions I actually had a new suit, short trousers of course for in those days you had to be a teenager to wear long trousers. Oh, a detail here about the new suit. The sermons were during the winter months and after the sermons were over, I with a few of the other boys were well aware that a nearby fish pond was frozen over. Let’s go and have a slide. They did and you can guess what happened to me! You’re right the first time! Straight through the ice and wearing my new suit, not quite the end of the World but far enough.

By the way I have not let you into the secret of how I maintained my tough exterior during most of my childhood. I started my days so well (not by weight lifting) but with a basin of bread and sop, which when analysed, is a pudding basin with a slice of bread broken up into it, covered in hot water with a wee drop of milk on the top. Yes, you could get cornflakes in those days, but we never saw any. Before we leave my childhood, just one more little episode. I had a special pal who was called Ginger. Ginger lived at the Territorial Drill Hall in Coalville, his Father being the Drill Sergeant. Therefore I had access to the training facilities, horizontal bars, punch-bags and various other things, this was great fun. When the boys were around 12yrs of age a schoolboy boxing championship was arranged. Having a little tuition and a fair amount of practice, my name was entered. I wasn’t destined to be a prize- fighter although I could defend myself, to a point. The first bout and in the second round my opponent landed a beauty where it hurts most, right on the chin. I said ‘Thank you very much but that’s enough of that’. We are now rapidly approaching the end of my school days. I would not say that I was exceptionally clever, I knew how many beans made five, I suppose I was a little above the average, but to move on to Grammar School was out of the question. Aunt Lou was already looking for a full time job for me. Mind, credit where credits due, it was considered that my future would not be down the coal mine (only as a last resort).Factories, brickyards, shops were all considered, what was it to be?

WORK AT 14YRS

I don’t intend to bore you on this subject, suffice it to say that at 14yrs of age I started work at a factory in Leicester, some 12 miles distance. Bus fares were out of the question so Aunt Lou had a family get-together. The object being to find an old bike, she was successful. Six days a week, 24 miles a day by pedal power, not a problem for a young man, but rather tiring combined with 8hrs each day at work.

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