Memories of dating during WW2

Memories of dating during WW2

Leicester in WW2

Pearl Beaumont recalls the perils of dating during WW2

EMOHA

Ref: EMOHA33/23

EMOHA

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.mp3

English

Oral history

Born digital

2 min 52 sec

I have to laugh about it ‘cause with me Mum, see, it was she was like a sister. It was really good. I mean to go out with these fellas - and I got loads of chaps to go with because I was attractive and I liked going out with them - but I went out on trust with me mum. Me mum said, well, you can do what - you can go with them, you can have a kiss and a cuddle, but, she said please, you've got the hairdressing saloon and she said please don't let me down, she said, you know what I mean? Well, I got into no end of trouble with the chaps because they'd say, they'd bring me to the door and start on different things, I said well, it's no good. I said there's nothing doing. I said I've made a bond with me, mother, and that's it, and they used to get really mad - your bloody mother! You and your bloody mother, get home to your mother, you know. And this is how he went on. But I never did. I thought no, I shan’t let her down, I'm not going to let her down. And I used to say to her, well, I went out with this feller so he said, well, he was a nice boy. She said, you only went out with Steve for a fortnight, she said, why did you pack him up? He was lovely. I said, oh, I couldn't go with him anymore. I said, his hands started to wander and everything. So I just, I couldn't stand the strain. But that's how we were. I mean, we didn't know flipping nothing. So, they were so different then. But you see, things did change cause the war came on. And then the Americans come and you wasn't allowed to go out with any Americans. That was the last thing you could do. They was too much, what we called hot stuff. You see? Oh, I've seen your Pearl out with American. You know, there would be hell to pay. I didn't want to fall in the family way and then me dad, he'd tell me, said, well, look, you know what you doing? He said, there's VD. He said. And even Jeff told me about that, later on about it. He said they put us off in the Air Force. He told us how what had happened to them - all come in spots and we'd be in a terrible state if we got VD. And my dad used to say to me that, my mum used to say about having a baby, Dad would say, well, you'll have to go to that clinic if you get VD and people will see you coming in and out that clinic, they'll know what you've gone in there for. And it's terribly painful when you have to hot needles in you if you go there, get that. So you can imagine I, kept my distance, what with VD. And then I wanted to go to London and go down. So, you have to be careful when you go down Soho, my dad said, he said they take you girls away at your age, you'll be white slave trade. So that's what we got.

Colin Hyde

Pearl Beaumont

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