Nancy Rule's Collection

Single Mothers in the Mid-Twentieth Century

This was a very unusual decision, for as Sue Kedgley explains in Mum’s the Word, single mothers in the 1950s were still looked down upon as fallen women. ‘Few women were brave enough to endure the stigma of being an unmarried mother, or able to bring a child up on their own without any assistance. The post-war nuclear family ideology insisted that children needed a breadwinning father and a stay-at-home mother’ (Kedgley 1996, 185). Many women felt they had little choice but to give their babies up for adoption, and those that did decide to raise their children on their own faced significant financial barriers.

Nancy was aware of the social stigma attached to being a single mother, and she would wear gloves to Glenda’s school events so that no one would know she wasn’t wearing a ring. She did not, however, let that stigma dictate how she lived her life, and Glenda remembers her childhood as a fantastic one thanks largely to her mother.

Nancy always made sure that Glenda had the things she needed, and the gloves, slippers and book bag in this collection are examples of items that Nancy either made or purchased for Glenda. After her time in the army Nancy worked as a cook at the local fire station, and then for more than 25 years as a postal worker. Glenda’s grandmother Maudie looked after her during the day while Nancy was working. The three generations lived together until 1968, when Maudie was tragically killed in a traffic accident.