Eva Williams was born in Washwood Heath, Birmingham. Much of Eva's later childhood was spent looking after her younger sister, born when Eva was 9, because their mother was unwell. In those days, one could pay to get a pupil out of school, and they had to buy Eva out (for £5) Eva married in 1947, they had two children, and then parted. Eva worked all her adult life, until a serious illness in 1982. She moved to Dorset in 1996 to be near her son. She's been coming to the Day Centre since 2001. The story Eva tells is about the healing power of music in her often difficult life.
This song I'm singing, called 'I'll Walk Beside You' is one I chose to sing on a memorable occasion 20 years ago. The daughter of one of my friends in the Operatic Society came along to my house and said 'I want you to sing at my wedding' It was in a church that was full of scaffolding. I'd broken my hip a month before and I was walking with two sticks. I had to dodge all this scaffolding in the church, a most horrifying experience! I found the photograph the other day; I did look a poor soul. I was really struggling but I did it. One of the people who knew me from the Operatic Society said 'Well, of all this service, that was the part I enjoyed the best
'He Was Beautiful' was one of my favorites I used to sing in the concerts with the Fircone Singers. I was their principal soloist. We performed all over Birmingham. I often sing it in my mind when I'm lying in bed. I don't go to sleep too quickly, and lie there and sing.
Then there's 'Merrie England' Where did I sing it last? At Poole, I came second in the Poole Festival. I joined the Women's Guild choir, I was in it for a couple of years, but my physical state was stopping me getting up on stage, I was more of a hindrance. About 1998 they entered me for the Poole Festival. They couldn't get over it, the organisers, they thought I was going to win it, and I was pretty old then. That was a nice experience. To walk in front of everybody and collect the certificate. Me with my funny head, I was having to half look at the ground and half at where I was making for in the centre. It wasn't funny: I had visions of finishing up down below somewhere! They said they hadn't had someone singing with a real contralto voice before in the festival.
I went to live at Bincombe Court in 1996. There was nothing used to happen there at Christmas in the way of entertainment for the people who live there, so I went down to the Warden's office and said 'I've got a few songs which are about Christmas' They said 'It's a waste of your time, people round here don't believe in Christmas.' I was horrified, then I said 'Well, it's up to us to bring it to the fore then. The trouble was there was nobody to accompany me. I hadn't got eyes then which would allow me to play at the same time. Anyway I just stood there and sang unaccompanied. I sang some carols and they talked about that for months - 'that song you sang at Christmas' - and I was asked to do it again. So it did a bit of good.
I was brought up in a house of music. We used to have musical evenings. My father and mother sang and an aunt of mine used to play for them. There's been music all my life going on around me. It was something that took the place of a broken marriage. My husband made me give up everything. He didn't do it until we were married. He used to come with me to concerts. Immediately we were married, I couldn't go anywhere. It just changed. I couldn't go out without him. It was very odd. After 7 years, the doctor that I used to go to told my dad, 'If she doesn't get away from him, I won't answer for it '.
He denied me everything. One of life's tragedies, that was getting back doing what I love doing and had been denied for so many years.
