The Ient Family: Family History

My Mother

My grandfather was a Lloyds surveyor in Sunderland. He died at a very early age; he took a fever on board one of these ships and my grandmother was left a widow when she was about 20. In those days, there was no subsistence, so you had to do something, and she started up as a dressmaker. When she finished being a dressmaker, she bought this house in Olive Street and started taking in lodgers. My elder sister took me around when I was young at 5, 6 and 7 years old. There were plenty of cinemas in Sunderland and doors opened about half past 12 and the performances went on until half past 10, 11 o’clock at night. It was only about two old pennies to get in. So my sister and I would go there. Mother gave us a bottle of water and some jam sandwiches and we used to go for the 1 o’clock performance and sit there and watch the film until half past 4 or 5 o’clock. We had strict instructions from our mother to stay there until you see the king, because in those days at the end of every performance a photograph of the king appeared, King George V, on the screen and everybody stood up whilst the National Anthem was being played. And this was always done and it was always meticulously observed, nobody moved whilst the National Anthem was being played.


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