We
would like to share with you the story of Maggie
Cook, one of the five ‘Cook Girls’ that have
worked at the Regent Palace Hotel in between 1919 – 1926.
In
October 2006 we have received a phone
call from a lady called Pauline Clark,
in hope that she could find some information
about her mother’s sister –
Maggie Cook, who ( according to her
claims ) worked at the Regent Palace
Hotel in the Grill Room as one of the
‘nippies’. Pauline has explained
that her mum’s sister was celebrating
her 100th birthday and wanted to surprise
her by reminding her of the years spent
at the Regent Palace which were the
best years of her life mainly because
she remembered the hotel as a place
where she met her husband.
It was by a great coincidence
that we had been sorting out some old images of the Regent Palace
Hotel due to the hotel’s closure and came across a picture
( please see below ) of the ‘nippies’ in the Grill
Room from round about the year 1922. We enlarged the image and
sent it to Pauline in hope that this photograph would be of
some use.
It was of a great surprise
to us when we received an e-mail back from Pauline. We couldn’t
believe when she wrote that not only she recognised her mum’s
sister on the photograph but also her 3 other sisters ( Georgina
Cook – known as Dot, Rosina Cook – known as Ena,
Eliza Cook – Pauline’s mother ).What an amazing
coincidence! Pauline went on explaining the precise positioning
of the 4 sisters on the photograph and was even debating whether
the head waiter ( Eddie Grosso ) standing in front of the main
pillar was the man who married Maggie Cook! The last of the
five sisters – Annie Cook is not in the picture.
Pauline has also very kindly
forwarded to us these following details:
Maggie Cook married Eddie Grosso
in 1920
Georgina Cook married Laurence, a waiter at the Regent Palace
in 1924
Annie Cook started to work at the Regent Palace in 1926.
Eliza Cook worked in the Grill Room from 1919 to 1926 and married
a Mr Buckle who worked at the Savoy. She met him at an afternoon
tea dance in the Trocadero.
Rosina Cook worked at the hotel in 1922
We know that in the 1960s when
immigrations was being encouraged from UK to Australia and the
journey by boat was £10, Maggie and Eddie immigrated to
Australia where Maggie still lives.
After Maggie’s 100th birthday
celebrations, Pauline has sent us a picture of Maggie at her
100th birthday celebration looking at herself in the photograph
( above ).
It
was all worth it!! What do you think?
During
December 1941, at the age of fourteen
and a half, I started work as a Book
Keeper at the Regents Palace Hotel.
I heard of this job through a Mrs Sanderson
who had visited our school in Colliers
Wood, SW19 (Fortescue Central School
for girls). She was I believe a manageress
over staff at the hotel.
I who had just returned from being evacuated
to Devon during August, was most interested
to work in a hotel in Piccadilly.
The office was small and was situated
on the first floor overlooking the Piccadilly
theatre. At first a Miss Twitchen was
in charge over us girls, followed then
by a Mrs Horn.
We had National machines to work on
making out bills for the customers.
I remember also there were Lamson tubes
to convey papers to the various parts
of the hotel.
My training as a Book Keeper started
at 7:30am in the restaurant. I was given
a chart of all the room numbers, and
because of rationing of food only one
breakfast was allowed. I had to check
off after asking customers their room
number. Some came back for seconds which
I had to report to the Head Waiter for
which they were charged extra.
Rooms were eleven Schillings per night,
(sixty pence in today's money).
Rainbow Corner in Piccadilly was filled
with many Americans, and many stayed
in the hotel (their military police
we called "snow drops" because
of the shape and colour of their helmets).
The hotel then had a Winter Garden and
a small band played there. If I remember
rightly a Daisy Kennedy played the violin.
She practised in an office next to ours.
All was also gentile then.
There were Page Boys then, one we called
"Ginger" (because of his colouring).
He was conscripted for the forces and
very sadly was one of the many killed
during the war.
Having to work shift work, eventually
I had to live in the hotel. I had a
room on the ninth floor (Z907) and my
windows were boarded because of the
blast of a bomb. There was just a wash
basin in the room.
We girls were called when on early duty
at 6:30am, by a dear soul we called
"Valentine" (her surname).
She would knock and say "6:30 Miss
Sewell", we were always called
by our surname.
A young girl called Daisy (Chapman)
also 14, started work at the hotel in
early 1942. We two became very good
friends and are now to this day 65 years
on !!
On the day the annex to the hotel had
a direct hit from a flying bomb, Daisy
and I were in the basement cloakroom,
something she and I have never forgotten.
Firemen came and rescued us in minutes.
We were taken to the hotel where we
were asked to tidy the office and continue
working. Our being in the basement saved
our lives.
Colonel Salmon (of Salmon & Gluckstein)
who resided at the hotel, thanks us
later and gave us ten Pounds for remaining
on duty. It was a fortune then as I
had started at one Pound per week.
I worked there until 1948 when I became
twenty one. Memories of my time working
at the hotel are happy ones.
Your
faithfully,
Betty Chadwick (Mrs)
Essex. UK
So....the
lovely old Regents Palace has now closed!!
Stayed there in 1987 with my husband
and two young daughters while visiting
Britain.....
Lovely
serviced bathrooms with the maid arriving
to run your bath and returning later
to clean same. Also, the very handy
automatic shoe cleaner down at the end
of the hall.
And
the 'early morning call' by the very
noisy rubbish truck in the street below!!
Oh, and not to forget the elevator with
it's swiftly closing doors; move fast
or be left behind!!
But
the memory that remains is the SUMPTUOUS
breakfast served downstairs. An utter
feast and all included in the accomodation
cost which was - by London standards
- very reasonable.
Lovely
to read about The Cook Sisters and to
see the beautiful old photographs.
Fond
memories.
Many
thanks, Sandra. {Australia}
Please
let us know of your time at the Regent
Palace and we will gladly publish it!
Email:
info@regentpalacehotel.co.uk
