From Wales to Wigan
Memory Lane: The distances travelled that led resident Anne to Belong Wigan
As she celebrates her 89th birthday this month, Belong Wigan resident, Anne, originally from a
little village near Tenby in Wales, reminisces about times gone by and remembers the journey
that lead her to happily settling at Belong Wigan.
Born in 1924, Anne was lucky enough to experience an idyllic childhood, growing up in a loving
family, with two sisters, Joan and Rowena, surrounded by beautiful Welsh countryside. She said:
“I remember spending long hours indulging our interests and pastimes in a lovely rural area –
green fields, woodlands, and sparkling brooks in which we paddled, carrying our jam jars in order
to catch any little tiddlers we might see.”
She smiles as she describes a very enjoyable time of her life, when she used to appreciate the
simple things: “The roads then were quiet; few cars. However on market days cattle could be
seen as they were taken to be sold once a fortnight, and of course the milkman came, daily,
churns rattling, as the horse drawn cart pulled up to deliver milk to the houses.” She adds.
She reminisces about the times she shared with her family, and the ways she used to get
involved with the community. She said: “Haymaking was a lot of fun too, and children used to ride
on the hay cart as it trundled along with its load to the hayrick. On arrival the children were
rewarded with a drink of pop, and the dads were given Home-Brew – their treat for helping the
farmers.”
However, these days were giving way to more serious matters for Anne, as she soon enrolled in
grammar school, and started making plans for her future. The clouds of war began to gather, and
the days of careless laughter with family and friends were soon to change forever.
A girl driven by ambition at a time when women were expected to be factory workers, Anne’s
heart was set on becoming a teacher and expanding her horizons. However, being met with
discouragement from her parents who wanted her to stay close by, Anne began working in a little
Sub-Post Office in the village.
She said: “Because I had all my school qualifications, I progressed quickly at the Post Office, and
when a vacancy opened in Pembroke Crown Post Office, I applied, and got the job. They used to
send me all over the place to stand in for the Post Master or Mistress, and my wages soon began
to increase from the 5 shillings a week I worked for when I started.”
It was whilst working at the Post Office that Anne caught the eye of a Polish officer from the
Polish Resettlement Core. He had seen her face in the Post Office, but it wasn’t until a dance at
the local cinema that he plucked up the courage to make his move. She said: “I can still
remember our first meeting to this day. There were only a few of us in the hall. He looked at me
from across the dance floor, walked straight over to me, clicked his heels, and said ‘may I have
this dance?’ Of course, I accepted.”
Anne married Wlodzimierz just after the war, and they both moved to Wolverhampton where she
began her teacher training. Not long after, in the December of 1947, she gave birth to their
daughter, Stefania. She said: “I really liked the name Stephanie, and I had my heart set on calling
my daughter that name. But my husband wanted her to have a Polish inspired name, so in the
end we compromised with Stefania.”
They lived a happy life in Wolverhampton, and Anne focused on bringing up her daughter as well
working as a teacher at St. Andrew’s Infant and Junior School. Anne was Deputy Head Teacher
at the same school at the time Wlodzimierz sadly passed away in 1982. When she retired shortly
after, Anne became an active member of the community which helped her deal with her grief.
Years later, Anne found love again after meeting Cliff whilst on holiday with a friend in Scotland,
and in 1998, at the age of 74, they married.
Anne made the decision to move to Wigan to be near her daughter and granddaughters,
Rebecca, 30 and Eleanor, 28, of whom she is so proud. Travelling was becoming difficult for
Anne, and she wanted to be closer to her family, so she could see them more regularly.
She said: “As old age doesn’t come alone, travelling long distances has lots of disadvantages.
But travelling down memory lane can be as leisurely as one chooses, and much more
pleasurable than crowded roads or airports.”
-ENDS-