Claude Gaskin, labour master
The man who was to marry Elizabeth a few months later, a 26-year-old coal carter called Sidney James Bacon, was a boarder in the same house. The fact that 'Bacon' was included as one of Claude's names suggests that he accepted that Claude was his son.
Elizabeth and Sidney were married in Booton on 23 December 1911, by the Revd Harry Buchanan, her former employer. Claude, age 4, was enrolled at Reepham School, the same school that his mother had attended, on 11 March 1912. He was admitted by his grandfather, suggesting that he was still living with his grandparents at this time.
Claude's father, Sidney, enlisted in the Army in December 1915 and served in India as a gunner with the 51st Company of the Royal Garrison Artillery. He was 32, married, and living in Reepham, still working as a coal carter. In his attestation papers he acknowledges his son Claude (written as Claudis) and daughter, Phyllis, born in 1913. He returned to the UK and his family, in December 1919 and recorded his address after discharge as Railway Terrace, Reepham.
Reaching the age of 14 in March 1921, Claude left school and was listed once again with his grandparents, two miles from his parents home in Reepham. He started work as an errand boy for J P Walker, a house furnisher in Hackford.
Claude married Constance Louise Potter early in 1933 in the Wayland area of Norfolk. No register copy has been found of the wedding, so this may have been a civil ceremony. It has therefore not been possible to determine exactly where the ceremony took place or Claude's occupation at the time. There is a report in the Yarmouth Independent newspaper on 20 February 1934 of a case brought against a Wymondham furniture dealer, Leslie George Barnard, for failing to make National Health Insurance payments on behalf of his employees, including a Claude Gaskin who had been employed by Barnard since 1 April 1933. Constance was living nearby in either Deopham or Attlebororough by this time, which may explain how they met.
The couple were in the Aylsham area of Norfolk at the end 1934 when their first daughter, Enid, was born. By 1936 had made the move away from Norfolk, all the way to Surrey and the village of Holmbury St Mary, southwest of Dorking. It is possible that they were just lodging here, but it seems more likely that they were employed, perhaps as housekeepers, by the owners of the house, Catherine Geldart and her daughter Barbara. Catherine Geldart was the widow of the Revd Ernest Geldart, the renowned priest-architect who died in 1929.
Claude and Constance were not to stay long in Surrey, however, as by August 1936 they were working at the Gressenhall Poor Law Assistance Institution (former workhouse) as Labour Master and Laundress, their predecessors, Mr & Mrs Musto, only having stayed in post for 8 months. Their appointment was recorded in the Guardians minutes on 8 June 1936. They were to be paid £50 each per annum, plus 'the usual' residential allowances and a £4 uniform allowance for Constance. Claude was provided with a new uniform every two years or so. They were also given accommodation for them and for Enid.
Nora Mickleburgh's father was Handyman and Engineer at Gressenhall and worked with Claude, and Nora remembers that the casuals, or tramps, used to come in every night at 6pm. "A Labour Master would see after them, and he would book them in, where they came from and where they were going ... They would have a bath, clean clothes and (were) fed, and the next day they would do a day's work, and the following morning they would go out and they had their clothes returned, all laundered, and a lunch given them."
"The Laundress and Labour Master lived in Cherry Tree Cottage. He was called the Labour Master because he saw after the tramps, but then he saw after the gardens, because we grew all our own vegetables, of course, you see, which has now been taken into grass. It was all kitchen gardens."
The accommodation in Cherry Tree Yard comprised at least one bedroom and a living room with appropriate furniture provided.
The minutes of 11 October 1937 record that the Master had been asked to collect a payment of three shillings and sixpence per week for the maintenance of children over two years of age, backdated to 28th June of 1936, from the Gaskins and also from Mr Ramsay who was porter at the time. Enid would have become eligible in the autumn of 1936 when she turned two. The same meeting recorded the receipt of a letter from Claude regarding his salary, presumably asking for an increase, but this is not specified.
It would seem that Claude and Constance considered leaving in 1938, perhaps having seen alternative posts advertised elsewhere. The Guardians approved the provision of a good testimonial in respect of their services but the couple were to continue working at Gressenhall for a few more years.
In 1940 the minutes mention an incident that occurred in which an inmate, G Kemp, broke Claude's glasses. The Guardian's arranged for Claude's glasses to be repaired at a cost of 16s 6d and Kemp's comforts allowance was stopped for two weeks as punishment for the offence.
Claude's starting salary of £50 rose regularly until by March 1942 he and Constance were both earning £65 per annum. In July 1942 however, Basil Walker, the porter at Gressenhall, was called up to active service and enlisted with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as a driver. His post was advertised but a replacement could not be found, and it was agreed that Claude would carry out some of the Porter's duties, in addition to his own, with an increase in salary of a further £10 per annum. Initially this a temporary arrangement but he kept the additional responsibilities until Basil Walker returned in 1946.
Minutes record that on 9 July 1945 Constance was pregnant and that she should be allowed the usual sick leave. Their daughter, Rita, was born very shortly afterwards.
A year later a decision was taken by the Guardians to improve the living conditions for staff, and one of the first recommendations was that a bath should be provided in the quarters of Labour Master and Laundress. Until this time the family were having to use the bath in the casual ward which must have been inconvenient for everyone, especially with a young child to care for.
This decision, along with several others, however, was deferred just 6 months later. Reforms to social care were being considered nationally and significant changes were expected to be made to many institutions. The future of Gressenhall was uncertain. In the event, the Poor Assistance Institution at Gressenhall was to be renamed Beech House and become an old people's home.
The situation in Cherry Tree Yard, however, was discussed again on 10 February 1947 and yet again in July. The boiler that provided hot water for the casual wards, and for the Labour Master's quarters had been faulty for some time and a decision was finally made that this should be replaced. With a new boiler, the question of a bath for the Labour Master was raised once more and the County Architect suggested that a bathroom, with bath, new WC and wash basin, could be formed by partitioning six feet off from what was a large bedroom measuring 19 feet in length.
Claude and Constance resigned in 1948 finally leaving Gressenhall on 18 February. There is no suggestion in the records of where the couple were moving to, but by 1952 the electoral registers record that Claude and Constance Gaskin were living at 1 Dunstable Street, in Ampthill, in Bedfordshire with around 90 other individuals. This suggests that they were living and working in an institution of some kind, and it would seem that this address was better known as The Cedars. Like Gressenhall, the Cedars was originally built as a workhouse, but by 1952 had become an Old Peoples Home run by Bedfordshire County Council.
The following year, Constance's name appears on the Roll of Assistant Nurses published by the General Nursing Council for England and Wales. She was enrolled on 25 March 1953, perhaps having done her training at The Cedars, inspired maybe by those she had seen working at Gressenhall and elsewhere. Their daughter Rita later also chose to make nursing her career. She trained at the Kingston Hospital in Surrey and was registered on 1 April 1967, age 21
Both girls were married in Braintree in Essex; Enid in 1958 and Rita in 1973 suggesting that the family had not stayed in Ampthill any longer than ten years. Claude died in Braintree on 3 December 1973, at the age of 66. Constance survived him for another 25 years.
