My Courting Days

As told by Florence Eveline Jenner (1901-1994):

I was always with the boys at school, and went out with three or four before I was 19. When I was 19, I was in the concertina band at the time; I had to choose between two chaps, Fred Wymark and Harold Jeans. Harold is now at Plymouth Congress Hall. I don't know why, but in the end I chose Fred. We courted for six years, and were engaged for two of those. I had an engagement ring with three stones set into it. It looked like a wedding ring, and people often thought we were married, especially when they saw us with Ken and Arthur (her two young brothers) mistaking them for our kids. I could have got married to him and gone and lived with his mother and father - they wanted us to. They owned an Ironmonger shop in Milk Street, near Newfoundland Road. It was good money but our mum and dad wouldn't have it. They were worried that after the income from the shop was shared out, I would have had what was left over after his mother had her share, I might not actually get much, especially if nothing was coming in one week - I felt a bit like that myself. He wouldn't or couldn't get another job. Our dad tried to get him a job, but he just didn't seem interested. So we split up - we didn't row or anything - I just said to him "The best thing we can do Fred, is to go to `Watch Night Service'", that's the 12 O'clock one, in the Salvation Army you know, "and then afterwards you can take me home, and then you go your way and I'll go mine" -And that's how it ended, we still stayed good friends after, because every birthday he'd send me a card.

However, after I'd finished with Fred I had a sort of a breakdown and went to stay with my Uncle Arthur (Arthur England) in Plymouth for six months - But he had twins - Phyllis and Evelyn, my millionaire cousins -so I was a sort of glorified servant. I remember years later, Ted and I met Fred in town, and he invited Fred to tea. I said "You're a bright spud Inviting him to tea" I said "He's an old, old flame, you're asking for trouble". He said, "A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush". It was while I was in Plymouth that I picked up with Les. He was 6ft something, and we had lovely outings around Dartmouth and places like that, and then we'd sell `War Cry's' in Looe - we had a smashing time. Then I moved to Bristol and he came down and stayed with his Aunty at Eastville. I went out with Les for a couple of years or so But one day we were walking along and, because of my keen hearing, I heard someone say, "There goes the long and short of it". That hit me flat - That put Eva off, and that was the end of our relationship. I did love him so I suppose that shouldn't have put me off - but it did. We wrote to each other for a long time, but eventually it filtered out. He's still in the Salvation Army, and if anyone goes down to Exeter, or Plymouth, I ask them to send my love to Les. However, I tell them to send my kind regards, if his wife is with him. I think last time someone went down, he was with his wife, so they gave my kind regards.

After I finished with Les I had two or three other boy friends, but nothing serious until I met Ted. I was 29 then, and the first time he walked me home he gave me a quick peck on the cheeks and ran all the way home. I met him in the August in 1931, and we were married by December. Just before our wedding I shaved all the hairs off my legs, and it was a couple of weeks before he saw my legs for the first time, by which time the hairs had grown back.