Lesser Contemporaries Ebook Tooltip Ebooks kunnen worden gelezen op uw computer en op daarvoor geschikte e-readers. Memories of Growing Up in Bristol during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s

K Margaret Rogers was born in Bristol, England in 1933, the second of four children.This book contains over 50 short stories about Margaret's life as she grew up in Bristol during the 1930's, 1940's and 1950s


She was brought up in Beaufort Place, a street of early Victorian tenement buildings to the North of St James Church. The first section of this book, 2 Beaufort Place, is based on her recollections of the people who lived there during the 1930s. It was during these depression years that her Father left the family – her mother, 2 girls and 2 boys. Actual events have been adapted to fit the characters who lived in the area. Beaufort Place no longer exists. The area was bombed during the Second World War and has since been redeveloped.


In 1940, just after the outbreak of the Second World War, at the tender age of seven, she was evacuated to Manaccan in Cornwall with her brothers and sister. The children were sent to different families on arrival and the war years became a very sad time of her life. She made one particular friend during these years – a boy from Tottenham. He features in her stories. Margaret found it very difficult to write this part of the book and it is consequently written in the third party. She still cannot come to terms with this period of her life.


At the end of the War she returned to Bristol with her sister and brothers. By 1945 Beaufort Place no longer existed and so her Mother had moved to St Andrews Road, Montpelier. This was a Victorian building with several floors and a basement. It was shortly after this that her Mother met Frank. Frank had returned from the War and separated from his wife. He had five boys to look after. The family became eleven – two adults and nine children. Later a girl was added to make twelve in all.


Seven St Andrews Road no longer exists, though many similar buildings do. The site of the house is now part of Montpelier Park. The house was next to a factory. The Church and the railway yards were nearby. These locations feature in her stories. Her recollections of the families and the children who lived in the street and surrounding streets form the basis for the stories in this section of the book.


The characters existed but have been given names that reflect her memories of them. Actual events have been adapted to fit the characters.


Life in English cities during the Great Depression, World War II and the Post-War days of the early 1950s was hard. It was even more so for the poor of those cities.

Bristol was one of those cities. Yet the children had a freedom not experienced today. Their world was defined by how far they could walk and then run to get home in time for tea. The stories in this book are based on recollections of those children and their families. Many have a sadness to them, yet they are written with a fond memory and a sense of humour. The reader will feel for the characters yet smile at their ability to cope with their world.

Margaret Rogers has written many short stories about the young people who influenced her life as she was growing up in the poor areas of Bristol. Several of her stories have been published in collections. This is the first time that a selection of her stories have been published in one book.

Sir Winston Spencer-Churchill once wrote a short collection of biographical essays about the people who influenced him. He called it "Great Contemporaries". Margaret's contemporaries were never Great – they were lesser citizens lost in a great city, her "Lesser Contemporaries".