A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s

The East-End stories that inspired the BBC TV series, CALL THE MIDWIFE, in a gorgeous gift box. London's East End in the 1950s was a tough place: the struggles of post-war life - bombsites, overcrowded tenements, crime, brothels - bred a culture of tight-knit family communities, larger-than-life characters and a lively social scene. It was into this world that Jennifer Worth entered as a trainee midwife. But docklands life was tough, and babies were often born in slum conditions. In funny, disturbing and heartbreaking stories, Jennifer Worth recounts her time among nuns, prostitutes, abortionists, bigamists, gangsters and expectant mothers, portraying East Enders' amazing resilience - and their warmth and humour in the face of hardship. Written with affection and nostalgia, her midwife stories chronicle the lives, traditions and tales of a bygone era.

World War Two is finally over. Millions all over the country are starting to wonder if peacetime really is much of an improvement on the War. Food shortages, endless queues, power cuts, rationing and freezing winters make it extremely difficult to make ends meet as husbands return from battlefields to families they hardly know. Yet some East Enders are living large...in a bombed out damp and squalid Hackney slum, one family are leading a life of luxury, a loadsamoney world funded by illegal betting, where virtually everything is available, thanks to a thriving black market. The Hyams family has a retinue of unofficial servants: a chauffeur, a cleaner and an army of delivery men. They take seaside holidays in posh hotels and dine on the finest foods and delicacies money can buy...but at the core of their daily life, an ever-growing nightmare lurks, threatening to wreck their luxurious existence. In this honest and sincere memoir, Jacky Hyams revisits the 'live for today' world of her childhood, a world where money was no object, growing up in a household underpinned by betting, booze and bribes. From stories of her parents partying with the Krays in the East End of old, to the optimistic swinging sixties of London's West End, this is the intimate story of a unique childhood, set against the backdrop of squalid, post-War Hackney.

Heart-warming tales of nursing and midwifery from the Sisters who worked with Jennifer Worth. ‘A second’s silence and then an almighty scream. It was the most moving thing I had ever seen ... A baby, a real live baby, another human life had entered the world. It didn’t seem possible and yet I had witnessed it with my very own eyes.’ Born into a happy working-class North London family in the mid-twentieth century, Katie is determined to ‘do something’ with her life. Working in the impoverished East End in the 1950s, she meets the Sisters of St John the Divine – a community of nuns dedicated to nursing and midwifery. The Sisters have been present at births, cared for the sick and laid out the dead of the East Enders for a hundred years, and Katie soon joins them to start her journey to becoming Sister Catherine Mary. As a nurse and midwife, Katie learns to deal with everything from strokes to breech births. Tragedy is never far away, but there are also moments of pure joy as lives are saved and the Poplar residents rally round. As a young novice Katie rallies against the vow of obedience, yet over the years learns much about the nature of dedication and love. Full of desperate hardship, humour and compassion, Katie’s story brings to life the unique world of these nursing Sisters in London’s East End. Sister Catherine Mary’s story was written by Helen Batten after in-depth interviews with today’s Sisters of the Community of St John the Divine. The Community of St John the Divine was founded in 1848 in a bid to make nursing a respectable profession. Early Sisters worked in the Crimea with Florence Nightingale and were instrumental in developing recognised training and qualifications for nurses and midwives. In the early 20th century they were working in areas such as Poplar and Deptford becoming a treasured part of the community. Today the Sisterhood is based in Birmingham and their website is www.csjd.org.uk. Helen Batten studied history at Cambridge and then journalism at Cardiff University. She went on to become a producer and director at the BBC and now works as a writer and a psychotherapist. She lives in West London with her three daughters.

This omnibus edition of Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse and Farewell to the East End chronicles Jennifer Worth's career as a midwife from start to finish, from her arrival in the war-scarred Docklands as a wide-eyed trainee, to the demolition of the tenements and subsequent closure of Nonnatus House. It provides a fascinating snapshot of social history, documenting the East End in the days when there was a real sense of community, when times were tough but there was plenty of good humour and neighbourly support to help the inhabitants through the harsh econonic climate. The book also enables readers to follow Jennifer's personal story, as she discovers the amazing resilience of a population still bearing the scars of war, and the vibrant community of nuns with whom she lives and who teach her the skills of midwifery. In stories that are funny, disturbing and moving in equal measure, we meet prostitutes and abortionists, bigamists and mischievous nuns, and see Jennifer earn the confidence of people whose lives are often stranger than fiction.

This ebook edition contains the full text version as per the book. Doesn't include original photographic and illustrated material. This oral history of London's East End spans the period after the First World War to the upsurge of prosperity at the beginning of the 60s - a time which saw fresh waves of immigrants in the area, the Fascist marches of the 30s and its spirited recovery after virtual obliteration during the Blitz. Piers Dudgeon has listened to dozens of people who remember this fiercely proud quarter to record their real-life experiences of what it was like before it was fashionable to buy a home in the Docklands. They talk of childhood and education, of work and entertainment, of family, community values, health, politics, religion and music. Their stories will make you laugh and cry. It is people's own memories that make history real and this engrossing book captures them vividly.

Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud owners of a near-derelict croft house—a farmer’s stone cottage—on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse. Call the Nurse is her account of the enchanted years she and her family spent there, coming to know its folk as both patients and friends. In anecdotes that are by turns funny, sad, moving, and tragic, she recalls them all, the crofters and their laird, the boatmen and tradesmen, young lovers and forbidding churchmen. Against the old-fashioned island culture and the grandeur of mountain and sea unfold indelible stories: a young woman carried through snow for airlift to the hospital; a rescue by boat; the marriage of a gentle giant and the island beauty; a ghostly encounter; the shocking discovery of a woman in chains; the flames of a heather fire at night; an unexploded bomb from World War II; and the joyful, tipsy celebration of a ceilidh. Gaelic fortitude meets a nurse’s compassion in these wonderful true stories from rural Scotland.

The East End is an iconic area of London, from the transient street art of Banksy and Pablo Delgado to the exhibitions of Doreen Fletcher and Gilbert and George. Located east of the Tower of London and north of the River Thames, it has experienced a number of developmental stages in its four-hundred-year history. Originating as a series of scattered villages, the area has been home to Europe's worst slums and served as an affluent nodal point of the British Empire. Through its evolution, the East End has been the birthplace of radical political and social movements and the social center for a variety of diasporic communities. This reference work, with its alphabetically organized cross-referenced entries and its original and historical photography, serves as a comprehensive guide to the social and cultural history of this global hub.

The third and final book in the bestselling CALL THE MIDWIFE trilogy, now a major BBC TV series starring Miranda Hart and Jessica Raine. The hit BBC TV series CALL THE MIDWIFE is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, chronicling her life as a midwife in London in the 1950s. FAREWELL TO THE EAST END is the third book in the trilogy. Following on from the bestselling CALL THE MIDWIFE and SHADOWS OF THE WORKHOUSE, Jennifer brings her story to a conclusion. Post-war life could be a struggle - the devastating effects of TB, dangerous backstreet abortions, people driven to extremes by poverty - but there was also warmth and humour. Like Megan'mave, the identical twins who share the same browbeaten husband; the eccentric Sister Monica Joan; and gauche debutante Chummy, who wants to be a missionary. FAREWELL TO THE EAST END shines a light on the lives, culture and stories of a bygone era, and is both moving and heartwarming in equal measure.