Maggie’s Story

‘I grew up in Southwark. My Mum and Dad separated and there wasn’t any such thing as welfare. Mum had to work all the time. She did a full-time job and did extra hours in the evening. She had to put food on the table and shoes on our feet. 

‘I was left with a friend or my brother, but on these occasions, I was with my friend. If the shilling ran out in the meter for the electricity, we used to go to bed and get under the bed clothes. We were a little bit frightened because it was dark and we were on our own. So, we hid under the bed clothes. I would have been about 10. Then we would sing the psalm, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life”. 

‘I didn’t know what it meant, but I thought, “I am only a child. No harm will come to me and I know God is with me.”