Granger 19
- This article is a Biography
- Chapter 19 - The scene closes
I have always cursed the war that interrupted Ethel's training, and more so, when, after all the hard work, sufferings and deprivations to save our country from the foreign feet and Hitler's dictatorship, we see where we are today. Our fight for freedom is useless while we have traitors at home, prepared to sell our people to the dictatorship of the European Community, made up mainly of those nations against whom we went to war. Would we have been willing to endure what we did if we could have read the future; that within 25 years of the struggle we should be sold out, lock, stock and barrel into the Common Market. I think not.
I feel sure that if we could have gone on with Mrs Kayne for a few more years, then Ethel would have gotten down to the 12 inches Madame promised or even LESS. At this point Ethel's waist was responding to the reductions exceedingly well. She now liked the tightest of lacing possible, even if it made her faint, so the way to smaller sizes was open to us.
She would now ask to be laced until cut in two. Then she would come up to me, put her arms about my neck and whisper; "How do you like your little wasp waisted wife? Are her corsets hard enough? Could I lace them tighter for her? Do you like my stiff tightly laced body in bed with you? Do you think that you can get your finger in the laces, and if so, could you not pull them in a little tighter? Then could close the gap for me. Do you like my little wooden waist? Clasp your hands around my waist and squeeze it as hard as you can. Now didn't you feel that was thrilling and did you not like it? Would you not like to lace me into 12 inches, 11 inches or 10 inches? When do you think you would be satisfied?"
And I would reply, "Would you like to be pulled into 12 inches or less?" and she would give me a kiss, saying, "If my husband would like it, then I am sure I should be delighted to be as small as possible to please him."
Unfortunately, she would at that time never show off her tiny waist, except to me, for if she had on a thin dress, her belt was never less than about 20 inches, so it was quite loose. Actually, anyone could see it was loose, but not how loose. I think we were both very conscious of it, but if I had plucked up courage and insisted she always wear a very tightly made dress and a tightly laced belt over them, she would have done so. She was really very proud of her small waist and had every reason to be proud, for few, it any, could have surpassed her. I often wish, I sent her photos to London Life at that time, for they never had one to beat her on their pages, only sketches, and they proved nothing. There was a competition for the smallest waist at one time and that was won by a lady with a 20 inch waist. I feel certain that someone did notice Ethel though, for there was once a photo, taken in our home town, showing a lady wearing a a wasp waisted costume and high heels, from the back view and I am certain it was Ethel, taken unawares.
Soon the war really came, and with it clothes rationing. This would not have been any trouble, for we never ran out of clothes coupons. The real trouble was to find some one to make the corsets, and secondly to find materials of good enough quality, or better than those available, for tightlacing puts a terrific strain on all materials, breaks steels, laces and the actual cloth of the corsets. Only the strongest materials will stand up for any length of time. These pre-war and war -time corsets were before the advent of nylon, or before nylon was allowed for the people to use.
The list of corsetières was running out, so eventually we tried Overett, mentioning that we had been customers of Mme Lorette, whose business he had taken over. Of course, we had coupons and he said he still had a little of the really good cloth left. We ordered a pair in pink satin, with a 14 inch waist and asked for a fitting when they were ready. We had passed by his window while he was down Knightsbridge way. I remember he had a lovely pair of black satin, wasp like model in the window. Now he had moved to Hanover Square, and as we mounted the stairs we were greeted by a display of superb creations, in black, pink and white satin in the various display cabinets, each with a divinely sloping waistline of the straight front type. When we met Overett for the first time, he was a little man and appeared to be very nervous. He said Ethel's waist and figure was marvellous and that he had no one on his records at that time who was smaller.
His corsets were of quite a different cut from those we had been used to and Ethel did not like them, for the busk plate was not stiff enough. So I said I would let him have one of my own plates to put in. He agreed to do the alterations required and make everything to our satisfaction. We also found he was quite willing to do repairs, and this became important soon for it became impossible to get new corsets, and the materials of those we got failed very quickly.
Soon the corsets arrived and Ethel laced them on with my assistance. Within a week she was wearing them fully closed and they turned out to be quite satisfactory. Then we had a second pair made, still with a 14 inch waist as I considered it might be advisable to mark time now, seeing Ethel and I were very busy, having plenty of work to do at home, during the war. The war was certainly a curse and now I consider a useless waste of time. However, it did have one great advantage, for it got us out of ourselves.
We began to do lots of things we had never contemplated. We both got on to lots of committees, such as A.R.P., W.V.S. and I began to take an interest in politics. When Russia became our ally we formed the British Soviet Friendship Society and I became the Publicity Secretary. Later I took over the Editorship of a small monthly local paper where I began to write articles as well as act as reporter and even to do a monthly poem. I got around widely selling over 300 copies myself. But that is another story, which someday I might write. Suffice it to say that without that experience and self assurance that we both gained, this would never have been written. I must say that my experience on the paper made me aware of the power of the press, for even such a small paper got things done.
Ethel and I became well known and in some quarters, well hated, members of society, but at least, we learned to face the world on our own two feet as individuals and present ourselves without fear or favour. We learned to fight for our opinions, right or not. We worked hard, for I had taken over one large allotment, and later a second one too. Ethel had to do lots of digging as she had come from a farming family. She enjoyed it, and so did I, who before the war, considered my own back garden a year's work to cultivate. The outdoor exercise kept us both fit. It was surprising how Ethel could dig, hoe, rake and sow with her 14 inch waist and stiff corset front which prevented easy bending. We began to put down concrete paths, and here again, Ethel was always ready to mix, shovel and shift the heavy stuff. It was then that I realised what an ideal exercise there was in mixing concrete. The swinging, twisting, rolling movements are an ideal waist reducer.
After the war I began to take an interest in astronomy, joined an amateur astronomical society,, bought a telescope and observatory to put it into practice. I had need to build there as more concrete mixing and brick laying. Ethel did the mixing, while laid the bricks and smoothed the concrete. So she developed quite hard unfeminine muscles in both arms while her waist remained flexible.
The second pair of corsets from Overett were not at first satisfactory as the first pair, so we had to go back for another fitting but he did alter and repair to our satisfaction. This pair we4e made of pink broche, as the satin was all gone and they had 5 pairs of suspenders. But now we began to run into real trouble for Overett could not get materials, as most of them came from France. High heeled shoes, too and long gloves came from the Continent and became dear and scarce. Nor could corsets be made without a doctor's prescription, and knowing what our doctor thought about them, I doubted if we could have wangled one if we had tried.
Ethel's corsets wore out, as they deteriorated one by one. We patched them, we repaired them, and so they were done for one by one. To keep her in shape and hold the corset together I made a stiff leather belt, which she laced over her corsets and so we managed to preserve her figure to a certain extent, but by the time peace was established, due to the lack of good corsets, the chaos of war, her figure was put back by 10 years. Also when the war ended, rationing went on for some years, so it was not until 1950 that things became normal, if one could say so.
By that time, when we could get good corsets again, her figure was spoilt and her waist was at its smallest at 16 inches again. I was hoping that Mrs Kayne would write as promised, but she never did. So we had to go back to Overett again. In fact, the size I ordered for her first pair, in hope, was with a 15 inch waist, and when these post war corsets arrived, we experienced great difficulty in getting her into them when they came with that 15 inch waist. Furthermore, Ethel had I lost that urge and did not want to give up her freedom again to return to tiny waists and their restrictions. As I have said, she had had a busy life during and after the war, so we had both come out of our shells a lot, and now cared little what people thought. Our fashions could now be flaunted at will, so far as we were concerned, for we did not mind what remarks people passed.
This brings me to the end of the first part of Ethel's history. The second and perhaps, most exciting, will begin here (at the end of the war) and relate the adventures that followed when we presented her to the eyes of the World, until the final page I can record.
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