Yours Cheerfully Quotes

“Mr. Adams, the Public Relations Manager, was no fool. Just a handful of female workers had managed to get themselves in the papers, and a policeman had ordered the man from the council to meet with them. Mr. Adams had also seen the response of the crowd. Sacking patriotic women war workers at Christmas would not be a good move.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“I could hardly believe what I had read. Woman’s Friend was joining the call for Government Nurseries and asking our readers to air their views in the magazine!”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“The pictorial paper kept to its word and printed a piece on “Nurseries for Women Workers” and included the photograph Bunty had taken of Anne bending down to adjust Ruby’s crown. Bunts had captured the moment when Anne was caring for her little girl while still pushing Tony in his pram. You could clearly see the sign saying MY MUMMY WANTS TO HELP WIN THE WAR.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“If anyone would understand, it was my best friend. “Just love him,” she said. “Whatever happens, if you love someone and know you’re loved back, you will always have that.” She paused and then added, “To be honest, it’s not nearly as good as when they’re actually alive, but you know, you have to try.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Nice singing,” he added to Irene and the others. “How about limiting it to carols for the rest of the day? Thank you, ladies, I think you’ve made your point and suggest you all go now. It is nearly Christmas, after all.” Then he gave a slight nod and with no intention of letting us try to carry on, slowly and very deliberately walked away. “Well done, girls,” called one of the soldiers. “You keep it up. We’re right behind you.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“All right, everyone, time to go,” said Constable Pickering as he shut his police notebook. He motioned to Mr. Rice. “Just so you know, Mrs. Oliver did you a very great favour there,” he said. “Just so you know. Now, I suggest you try talking to these ladies rather than making their children cry. By the New Year. I’ll be checking.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Anne swayed from side to side, trying to calm Ruby down. In between enormous gulps and with her flowery crown all askew, Ruby buried her head into Anne’s shoulder. “He. Made. You. Cry. My Mummy,” she sobbed.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Actually, Constable,” said Mr. Adams, “I was the person who alerted your station to the possibility of trouble taking place here today.” “Then you’ll be very happy to give me your details, won’t you, sir?” said Constable Pickering,”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Hello,” said Ruby confidently. “What’s your name?” The policeman stopped writing. “Constable Pickering,” he said. “Picky Wing?” “Pickering.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“I’m afraid they’ve already given me the sack,” said Anne politely. “And probably will to all the others after this.” “Very festive,” said the officer drily. “Who’s the Scrooge?”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“We’re only asking for a nursery,” said Anne to the policeman. “But we’ve been told it has to be done jointly by local authorities and factory managers. They won’t even meet with us. No one seems to want to know.” “And the Ministries of Health and Labour have to say yes before anything happens,” I added. “These women just want to be able to work.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“GIVE THEM A NURSERY!” someone shouted. “WHO ARE YOU, ANYWAY?” called out someone else. Mr. Adams didn’t like that at all. “STOP PICKING ON THEM,” cried a woman with a young girl in a school uniform.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“We just want nurseries so we can work and keep our children safe,” shouted Maeve. “TO WIN THE WAR, WE’RE ASKING, PLEASE, HELP US GET OUR NURSERIES,” some of the others began to chant.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Press,” I said loudly. “Good morning. May I take your name? I want to make sure I spell it correctly. Are you an official representative? Our readers will want to know what you have against women who want to do war work.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“say,” he said loudly. “I am here on behalf of the council. You ladies are blocking a public thoroughfare and must disperse.” It was a crass interruption. “Shame,” said someone behind me. “They’re not doing any harm,” said a young man.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“All Mrs. Barker wants is to be able to work,” she said. “That’s all. It has taken great courage for her to be here today.” She looked over at Irene. “Last week she was informed that her husband, Able Seaman Douglas Barker, had given his life for his country.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“I’m Mrs. Irene Barker,” she said, almost in a whisper. “I was a war worker, but I lost my job because I couldn’t find anyone to look after my girls when I was at work.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“As Anne continued to reiterate that all the women wanted was nurseries for the children, you could see the crowd’s interest grow. When she said that many war widows needed to work, there were nods from other women, including several in middle age. This was not their first war.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“But we have a problem, which is why we are here today. You may know we work shifts and weekends and all hours. We don’t mind that if it gets the job done. But our littl’n’s, our children who are with us today, need looking after. We know Mr. Churchill’s Government is setting up special nurseries for war workers. But we don’t have them yet, even though we need them badly. The fact is, we need them NOW.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“All we want you to know is that we want to work for our boys. We urge any girl or woman of working age to join in so that we can support them and get this war won.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“I am a war worker and a mother. I have two small children.” She glanced down at Ruby, who was with Violet and trying on her scarf. “I want to tell you about their father, my husband. His name was Corporal Anthony Oliver, and he was killed at Dunkirk.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” she said. Then she cleared her throat again. “My name is Mrs. Anne Oliver and I am a war worker.” The other women clapped again. A soldier nearby shouted, “Good girl!” and his friend joined in with a “Well done, love. Good on you.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“At the town hall, the women stopped singing and gathered into a group. Several people clapped, although they kept their distance, waiting to see what would happen next.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“When the song came to an end, the women began to chant. “To win the war, we’re asking, please, Help us get our nurseries.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Irene’s sign simply said WAR WIDOWS NEED NURSERIES.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“They may have been singing and wearing pretty scarves, but their signs and placards were clear. Anne had tied one to Tony’s pram that read MY MUMMY WANTS TO HELP WIN THE WAR. Maeve and her girls had used chalk to write on blackout cards NURSERIES FOR KIDS, WAR WORK FOR MOTHERS, while another pram sported a sign saying HELP MUMMY HELP OUR DADDY. Two women I didn’t recognise held pieces of cardboard that read WE NEED NURSERIES TO HELP WIN THE WAR.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“everywhere, there was little in the windows. The days of endless fat plucked turkeys hung up in rows were temporarily gone. I overheard someone saying there was chicken, and through force of habit I nearly checked my bag for my ration book.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“The train stopped once in a siding for twenty minutes, but we passed the time with a spirited game of I Went to the Shop and I Bought…, which ended in an unsurprising dead heat between Bernard and Larry, and showed that thinking about vegetables alphabetically could take one’s mind off nearly anything.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Whether it was Anne and the girls, or me with Bunty or Kath or Thelma, we were just the same. Sticking with each other through the best bits and the worst in the war, without even thinking—it was just what we did.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully

“Of course I would never write something like that, but I found it frustrating to write encouraging articles, while knowing my friends weren’t being listened to in real life.”
― A.J. Pearce, Yours Cheerfully