Mudlarking with the matelows

I remember we made our own mats for in front of the fire , we would cut up bits of rags and a portion of a clean sack , we would use a tool with a sharp point on it and a clip near the end , push it through the sack , place a bit of rag in the clip and pull it back through , I think all of us Children had to do their turn , the outcome was a soft rag mat of many colours , apparently our father would bring home some Army greatcoats for the girls to cut up to make not only mats for the floor , but soft fluffy blankets for the bed to keep the children warm . ( this was before my time , ) .


This is a photograph of me in the front pram ,Ralph stood in the middle ,and Peter in some kind of box ?





The first real present my Mother gave me was a repainted second hand bike , it was for my 15 th Birthday , what she was saying was ", there you are son now you can ride 7, miles there and back again to work every day ", thanks mum.!!

We could see the mast of H.M.S,Victory , from our flats , the rigging was sometimes full of different flags , It was a sight to see , it always used to cheer me up , we my brother Peter and I would go aboard H.M.S. Victory on Navy Days , there was no time limit on the Victory then , you could go up and down the deck , sit on the guns , we had a look at the place where Lord Nelson died , I even took my sisters children onto the Victory when I grew older , now its got Commercialised , 15 minutes to get on and off.

　

In the H.M.S, Vernon, just a little way inside the gate , the young sailors used to climb the rigging on imitation ships mast and rigging , there they would perform a dance to the sound of navy pipes , we watched them do their dance , all dressed up in white uniforms , flitting from one part of the rigging to the other, it was a wonder they did not fall , still it was enjoyable to watch.

　

Navy Days, They were the best , we lived next to the Marlborough Gate , one of the Dockyards four gates . When the crowds started to build up my brother and I used to nip in and have a good time , when I say nip in , I mean we would wait until a large family or crowd started to go through the turnstiles and go in with them , we would get lost in the numbers.

We would go on one ship after another , the aircraft carriers were good but the frigates and other war ships were best , we would clime onto gun seats and turn the handles , swing to left then to the right ,up and down , it was magic! sometimes we would sneak into the forbidden areas below decks and nick a packet of cigarettes , we did not smoke them , but we took them anyway , we enjoyed going into the submarines , and watching the frogmen diving under water from the side of the dock basins to plant their mines , swoosh!, the mines went off , water shooting up into the air , confirming a hit , we often went hungry but we did not care , we had a great time.

Talking of a great time , when we were about , 7, years old , we used to go to the old dockyards in Portsmouth , next to the bridge that used to feed the travellers from coach stops to the railway station and vise the versa , along side of the bridge there used to be MUD ! , Glorious MUD ! , that’s when we , my brother and I , like my brother before us , became, Mudlarkers!, Beggars in the mud!! , I love you lady, I love lady, but I love your money the best!, Black me face for a tanner!, roll over In It for a bob", we got black ,mud all over us, Matelows used to take the silver foil from the cigarette packet and mould it around a penny, toss it up In the air to get us all interested, and us thinking it was half a dollar (2 shilling and 6 pence ) and us ager for the plunge he would throw the coin as hard as he could into the mud, and cause a stampede! we would all rush to the same spot of mud bodies flying everywhere pushing and shoving, mud flying everywhere! The lucky or unlucky boy who found the coin would soon show his dislike by throwing mud up at the offending sailor.


It was not always" fun", once when mud larking I managed to step onto a jagged and very sharp part of a bottle ,stabbing my right heel, going in to about 1" inch ,after cleaning myself up,I made the longest journey to st, Mary’s hospital, no shoes

(I did not have any on that day), every other step a bloody heel print, but I got it treated and all was OK.

one day my brother and I took my little sister out to play, mum said we where not to go begging, so we went to the dockyard and started to mudlark, we placed our little sister on the shingle by the edge of the mud, keeping an eye on her we started to call out our mudlark song," we were not begging", we noticed the tinkling sound of money hitting the shingle, the crowed had gathered above our sister and were throwing down money to her, she did not understand ,so we pretended to help this poor little girl. now its not a lot of money at today’s rate, but £1,7/6 was a lot back then, well we could not take it back home with us, so we spent it!, we went to the pictures ,had Ice cream, sweets, sweets, sweets. and Ice cream! Eventually we made it back home, mother, was doing her nut," where have you been! "she asked politely,. After a little time of polite chitchat, we told her all of what we had done, SMACK!!" , but we did not go begging," we said, "that’s not for begging, that’s for not bringing the money back home to me". our sister was 4 years old, and very pretty back then.