Page 222 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 222
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
Jack was soon getting ready to join up, as were many of his contemporaries and the girls were looking
to see what they could do. In our minds of course, was the question of how this would affect our
return to China. We could only wait and see.
At last the great day of Frank’s birth arrived, 8 October. Percy dragged me out for a walk after tea on
that Saturday night, but I felt exhausted so quickly that I begged him to take me home before we were
halfway round the block. That night the waters broke and we called a taxi to take me and Percy and
Mother to ‘Seaton Ross’ the Nursing Home our old friend Matron Melsom had opened in Guildford.
She had brought Muriel and so many other Mercer grandchildren into the world, so when I knew I
would be home for the birth of our third child, I asked Mother to book me in with Matron whom I knew
and trusted.
It was not she who welcomed us at the door, but a red headed Scottish nurse who worked with her.
Mother got as far as the door and then said she would go and sit in the taxi to wait for Percy. He had
my case and was going to walk up the passage with it to wherever I was to be. I hoped he would be
able to stay with me at least till things began to happen. But not so! Our nurse very firmly took the
case from his hand and said, “And we don’t want any husbands either”. He found himself outside the
door following Mother to the taxi while I meekly walked up the corridor after
my nurse.
It seemed a long drawn out affair and Matron finally gave me something to
hurry things up. This was the days of ‘twilight sleep’ which I had refused.
Having had Alan without drugs of any kind, I felt that is the way I wanted it
to be with any others. I felt glad I had refused it when I heard some of the
performances put on by other women who had it. Obviously they did not
know what they were saying or doing and that did not suit me at all.
All this time I had been expecting ‘Dorothy Margaret’, so it was quite a
shock when Matron said, “You have a lovely little ten pound boy, Amy.”
This was in the early hours of Sunday morning, 8 October, so I asked
Matron to ring the Manse at Bayswater and have Mr. Hogg deliver a
message to Percy and Mother, which he was delighted to do. They came
to see me later in the day, and from then on all I had to do was relax and
get my strength back. The Scottish nurse proved to have a heart of gold, and even Percy began to
think she wasn’t so bad after all. My cousin Cliff Tassell’s wife, Vi came in to have her baby a few
days later and Matron put us together in the one room. That was great, not only because we knew
each other well and had lots to talk about, but also because we could share our visitors. Most of my
relations were hers too. The only drawback was that our children were not allowed to visit if they were
under a certain age, so neither Vi nor I saw our other children for the week we were in hospital. I
found myself longing for a sight of my little boys.
Frank was a perfect baby. I used to listen when the nursery door opened in the morning to try and
distinguish his cry from all the others, but without success. When I told Matron she said, “He never
cries. He’s such a happy contented baby”, and so he proved to be even after we took him home. I
was a bit afraid they would spoil him between them, but he seemed to take it in his stride and was
none the worse.
My first day home was a Sunday and Percy had to go down to Fremantle where he was taking
services at the Baptist Church for three months. It was wonderful to have my two little boys with me
again, but by the end of the day, after the quiet of the hospital, I was exhausted. Raymond was
content to stand by my side and quietly look at the new baby, but Alan was so delighted to have me
222
Amy Moore
Jack was soon getting ready to join up, as were many of his contemporaries and the girls were looking
to see what they could do. In our minds of course, was the question of how this would affect our
return to China. We could only wait and see.
At last the great day of Frank’s birth arrived, 8 October. Percy dragged me out for a walk after tea on
that Saturday night, but I felt exhausted so quickly that I begged him to take me home before we were
halfway round the block. That night the waters broke and we called a taxi to take me and Percy and
Mother to ‘Seaton Ross’ the Nursing Home our old friend Matron Melsom had opened in Guildford.
She had brought Muriel and so many other Mercer grandchildren into the world, so when I knew I
would be home for the birth of our third child, I asked Mother to book me in with Matron whom I knew
and trusted.
It was not she who welcomed us at the door, but a red headed Scottish nurse who worked with her.
Mother got as far as the door and then said she would go and sit in the taxi to wait for Percy. He had
my case and was going to walk up the passage with it to wherever I was to be. I hoped he would be
able to stay with me at least till things began to happen. But not so! Our nurse very firmly took the
case from his hand and said, “And we don’t want any husbands either”. He found himself outside the
door following Mother to the taxi while I meekly walked up the corridor after
my nurse.
It seemed a long drawn out affair and Matron finally gave me something to
hurry things up. This was the days of ‘twilight sleep’ which I had refused.
Having had Alan without drugs of any kind, I felt that is the way I wanted it
to be with any others. I felt glad I had refused it when I heard some of the
performances put on by other women who had it. Obviously they did not
know what they were saying or doing and that did not suit me at all.
All this time I had been expecting ‘Dorothy Margaret’, so it was quite a
shock when Matron said, “You have a lovely little ten pound boy, Amy.”
This was in the early hours of Sunday morning, 8 October, so I asked
Matron to ring the Manse at Bayswater and have Mr. Hogg deliver a
message to Percy and Mother, which he was delighted to do. They came
to see me later in the day, and from then on all I had to do was relax and
get my strength back. The Scottish nurse proved to have a heart of gold, and even Percy began to
think she wasn’t so bad after all. My cousin Cliff Tassell’s wife, Vi came in to have her baby a few
days later and Matron put us together in the one room. That was great, not only because we knew
each other well and had lots to talk about, but also because we could share our visitors. Most of my
relations were hers too. The only drawback was that our children were not allowed to visit if they were
under a certain age, so neither Vi nor I saw our other children for the week we were in hospital. I
found myself longing for a sight of my little boys.
Frank was a perfect baby. I used to listen when the nursery door opened in the morning to try and
distinguish his cry from all the others, but without success. When I told Matron she said, “He never
cries. He’s such a happy contented baby”, and so he proved to be even after we took him home. I
was a bit afraid they would spoil him between them, but he seemed to take it in his stride and was
none the worse.
My first day home was a Sunday and Percy had to go down to Fremantle where he was taking
services at the Baptist Church for three months. It was wonderful to have my two little boys with me
again, but by the end of the day, after the quiet of the hospital, I was exhausted. Raymond was
content to stand by my side and quietly look at the new baby, but Alan was so delighted to have me
222
