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First Years |
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Archibald
and Janet Goolden had two daughters.
The eldest, Peggy, was born in peacetime in 1912, and received
the undivided attention of two doting parents – with lots of baby
photographs to prove it. By
contrast Pat, short for Patience, was born in June 1915, when the world
was at war and Zeppelins would soon be attacking civilian populations in
Pat’s life reveals many contrasts, both at the material and emotional level. As soon as she was born she was left on a windowsill wrapped in cotton wool while all the attention focused on the mother. Only later was it discovered that the baby was alive. It is with this event that Pat chose to begin writing the story of her life. Then the nurse, a powerful figure in those days, laid down the rule that the baby must not be picked up except for feeding and changing. With this treatment Pat cried so much that she burst a blood vessel in her throat. Worse was to come. Because the air raids became so bad her parents arranged for the nurse to take the two sisters to stay at a safe seaside town. The girl had no help or respite. Here Pat suffered physical chastisement and was frequently left alone to cry herself to sleep while the nurse took her sister to the seaside. This experience left a legacy of insecurity which lasted for years, she said.
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