Standing in line for bread, 1947

Comments about this page

• Reply

  In the winter of 1947 the road and rail links to and from Cwm were cut off by massive snow drifts. Essential supplies could not be delivered from the south so a self imposed form of rationing was set up.
  Luckily Mr CLYDE Williams in partnership with his son Louis of the Clifton bakery in William Street had a good stock of flour in their loft. ( Clyde and his wife were Bristolians)
  Due to the drifted snow, bread could not be delivered around the town. Normally Clyde would deliver daily around most of the streets of Cwm with his purpose built and liveried bread van pulled by Dolly the horse, so under those extreme circumstances customers had to queue up to buy bread at the bakery. I can speak with authority about those days because I was a 13 year-old errand boy for Jarrets the Marine Street grocer.
  My job 6 days a week was to deliver bread to our customers, below the bridge one day and above the bridge the next. Normally I would deliver 48 loaves of bread on a steel wheeled trolley, but during the snow I pulled a sleigh carrying a large basket of 48 loaves.
  I didn’t have to queue up for my bread supply like the general public, so I had to brave their hostile looks. My customers came first…..
  As stated previously I was thirteen years old and I had to complete my delivery around the streets of Cwm before school. I presented myself for work at the shop in the dinner hour and after school from 4.0pm to 6.0pm. Saturday was a full day from 8.0 am to 6.0pm all for the princely sum of 2 shillings and 6 pence or twelve and a half new pence……..Did someone mention child slavery?????

  By David W Williams (28/10/2015)