It’s A Wonderful Life
Florrie Shaw’s Life Story
Dec 20, 1909 – Apr 12, 1998
Florrie Shaw was a true Cockney, born within the sound of Bow Bells in London’s East End.
But, due to a couple of quirks of fate, she spent the vast majority of her life in her adopted
home of Scotland.
The First World War accounted for one when her dad evacuated the family to Lanarkshire to
escape the Zeppelins.
The second was down to the birth of her youngest sister, Nancy, although she didn’t realise
that at the time.
Born on December 20, 1909 in Station Road, Stratford, to Fanny Gibson, she was the third of
13 children and her early life had tragedies, twists and turns worthy of an Eastenders soap
saga.
Her earliest memory was of spending her Saturday penny on “stick jaw” toffee and broken
biscuits – pretending it was a good lunch. She also recalled the simple thrill of her eldest
sister Emmie bringing her a matchbox full of daisies when she had measles.
Little sister Elsie also had measles and died, aged three, while Florrie, four, survived. Little
brother Jimmy then died, aged just two, unable to be resuscitated after apparently holding
his breath.
The family moved to Wishaw where her dad was billeted during the war. Aged 10, Florrie
contracted TB and was only discharged from a sanatorium on condition she returned to the
south of England. She travelled alone by train from Motherwell to London, met by
grandfather Gibson who promptly bought her new black patent shoes to replace her tackety
boots.
She never attended school again, started cleaning at 12 and went into service where she
enjoyed the luxury of her own bedroom. When she was 15 her granny dropped the
bombshell that Florrie had a sister, Gladys, in Canada.
Gladys and Emmie’s father, a soldier in India, had died of dysentery. When their mum fell ill
baby Gladys was sent to a Barnardo’s Home, then fostered and sent to work in Canada,
aged 12.
Back in Scotland their mother remarried and continued having babies. She once
returned to London to take Florrie back with her but the 17-year-old hid in the attic,
secretly watching as her mum left, accompanied by a little brother she had never
seen. She eventually relented, returning north to discover she was to look after the
family while her mother gave birth again.
Sharing a bed in the kitchen with two sisters, she worked in a stick factory, sometimes from
6am to 10pm. But she fell asleep to the sound of the violin played by the boy next door,
joiner Guy Shaw.
They married three years later, on Hogmanay 1930, and had two boys, Tom and Jim, and a
daughter Cath.
Times were sometimes hard but Florrie – who continued to work on and off as a cleaner was a thrifty and practical mum – just don’t mention cabbage soup to Tom! She always had a
ready smile and a supply of her legendary pancakes, pegbags and crocheted baby jackets –
the church jumble sale was never without.
Affectionately referred to as Wee Gran or Flo Jo by her grandchildren – Gavin, Alison, Stuart,
Wendy, Sandy, Linda and Julie - it was always open house over Christmas and New Year,
her large family guaranteeing a constant stream of visitors.
Florrie was in her 50s when she and Gladys finally met in Canada. Applying for her passport
she discovered she wasn’t Florence Downes – her mother’s married name. She also wasn’t
Florence Josephine but Josephine Florence, she was a year older than she thought and her
surname was Dale.
Her widowed mum had unwittingly married a bigamist – Florrie’s father – and fled the day his
wife turned up on their doorstep. Florrie’s other siblings were the children from her mum’s
third marriage.
Florrie and Guy, who lived in Wishaw for the rest of their lives, were married for more than 60
years. Guy spent his last five years in hospital where she visited him every day. Florrie, a
member of the Girls’ Brigade for more than 70 years, died two years later, aged 88, during a
visit home from New Zealand by her daughter.
Tel: 07760 193375 Visit: wonderfullife.org.uk Email: memories@wonderfullife.org.uk