93 year old Marguerite Patten, war time tester of rationed food for the Ministry of Food and the first television cook attended a snapshot event of 1945, organised by Abbeyfield Southampton in celebration of National Older Peoples’ Day.
1st October 1945 is a date in a memorable period, especially for those who were around at the time - the war had recently finished and soldiers were being demobbed, the horrors of Belsen were being revealed at the first trial and new Prime Minister Clement Attlee had begun the daunting task of leading the country in the post war era.
But life carried on including its mundane aspects – and as part of the snapshot celebration by Abbeyfield, there was a wash day demonstration – scrubbing brushes and mangles to the fore!
It was part of a living history day entitled “A moment in history – 1st October 1945” organised by Abbeyfield Southampton and it was held at The Library, Cobbett Road, Bittern Park, Southampton. The celebrations also included a street party, the memories of one of Montgomery’s “back room boys” Stella Rutter (actually a girl!), home-made cakes from 1940s recipes and lots of memorabilia.
Abbeyfield patron and wartime ‘celebrity chef’ Marguerite Patten OBE, attended the event and kept a watchful eye on the cake making as well as sharing some of her wartime memories!
Organiser Abbeyfield’s Annette Blackman says “We wanted to celebrate our Abbeyfield residents and other older people on their special day and thought, as 1945 was part of such an important time in their lives, that it would be interesting to create this living history experience”.