NEW BOOTS

1. "Dad and I think you should have some new clothes to start your new school," Mum announced with a smile.

2. We had made our second move into a nice three-bedroom terrace house. I was about to celebrate my eighth birthday, and would be attending my third school in three years. World War II would start within three more years, and then Dad's employer would prosper making military uniforms. They would subsequently take over the entire factory from the other tenants, and remain in the same building. This house would prove to be the home in which Mum and Dad would live out the rest of their lives.

3. Mum and Dad made all our clothes (except socks and underwear), because it was much cheaper than buying them and because they knew how.

4. Dad was a tailor's cutter. He would run his tape measure over me and, from the resulting figures, make a pattern from brown wrapping paper. This he used to cut out a garment which was guaranteed to fit.

5. For several years before she was married, Mum had =worked as a seamstress for a French dressmaker in London's fashionable West End. She did beautiful work and could quickly put a garment together, while rapidly treadling her old Singer sewing machine. Mum also made dresses for a select few ell-to-do women, who seldom left after a fitting without giving me a pat on the head and a sixpenny piece.

6. In a few days I was the proud owner of a new jacket, two pairs of trousers, and several shirts.

7. "All you need now, Jack, is a new pair of shoes," Dad said while trying to coax a shine from my old ones. "On Saturday we'll go to the High Street and see what we can find."

8. Saturday we returned from our shopping at the large, open-air market with our purchases, among which was a pair of heavy, serviceable black shoes.

9. "I'll just put some Blake's on them for you and then you'll be ready for school on Monday," Dad said.

10. Every pair of shoes I had ever owned had had their soles and heels protected by Blake's, which were steel studs and plates. Dad would put the shoes on his metal last and nail horseshoe-shaped metal to the heels and flat plates to the toe of the soles, adding four rows of round studs. These would be replaced as needed, ensuring that although the uppers would ultimately wear out, the bottoms would remain as good as new.

11. Monday morning came all too soon. Wearing new clothes and my lovely new shoes, I set off for school together with Mum and my brother. Mum went into the office and returned accompanied by a bird-like woman who guided us to the classroom to which I would report every day. The teacher came out into the corridor to greet us; after saying goodbye to Mum, she took me into the room, which was occupied by about 30 children.

12. "This is Jack," she introduced me. "We'll all make him welcome, won't we?"

13. I looked around the small sea of faces. If they were making me welcome, they sure were keeping it a secret. I was given an empty desk—which would be mine until the end of the school year—and sat down, looking about me at my fellow students.

14. Inevitably, I knew that one of the boys would challenge me and this would be followed by challenges from other boys until my position in the class was established. Sure enough, at recess I was approached by a rather husky boy of my own height.

15. "I'm William," he growled, "and after school I'm going to beat you up!"

16. I then new that William was not the toughest fighter in the class. The class champ would never challenge a new boy without first seeing him in action, for fear of maybe losing face by getting whipped.

17. After school, I walked outside to find quite a large crowd of children gathered for the coming spectacle.

18. "Here he is," someone called, and a number of boys shoved me into the middle of a circle of eagerly-waiting spectators. William was waiting, his jacket already removed.

19. "I'll hold yer coat," a small boy offered as he helped me off with my new jacket.

20. William immediately came toward me, his hands reaching out. He wanted to get this over as soon as possible, and I knew I would be unable to prolong the proceedings. Boys were divided into tow basic groups—the punchers and the wrestlers. I had been trounced by both, many times. William was obviously a wrestler.

21. He made a sudden lunge for me and I side-stepped to avoid being grasped. I certainly wasn't looking forward to rolling around on the ground in my new clothes, because I knew I'd catch it from Mum and dad.

22. William snarled and lunged again. This time he succeeded in grabbing me, but on attempting to elude him I accidentally came down hard on his instep with my heavy, studded shoes.

23. "Ow!' William screamed as he forgot me ands danced around on one foot.

24. I was not ready for this sudden turn of events, but saw my advantage. Stepping close to him I stamped hard on his other foot.

25. "Ow!!!" William screamed again, as he changed the foot he was nursing. This was too good to be true and, with the cheers of the audience in my ears, I gave him several kicks in his shins. William was now totally demoralized and, pressing my incredible advantage, I proceeded to hit him about the face as hard and as often as I could.

26. A couple of William's friends came to his aid and, pushing through the circle of children, escorted him from the field of battle.

27. The next morning before classes started, William came up to me.

28. "You don't fight fair, you don't," he complained. I grinned.

29. I was not challenged again while I was at that school. I wish I could say I never lost another fight but that would be untrue; however, from that time on, when faced with an unavoidable fight, I quickly started with a flurry of foot-stamps and shin-kicks and, using my boots as weapons, won far more than I lost.