From bombs to being there

Doris Reeg, better known to her friends as Billie, is originally from

England. Reeg explained that in England, if your last name is Bailey,

you are most often nicknamed Bill if you are a man or Billie if you

are a woman.

During World War II, she served in the Women’s Land Army in

England. The Land Army consisted of women who replaced men on farms

-- men who had gone to war. She came to America with her daughter

during the war as a war bride on the ship Aqua Tania. When she

arrived in Indiana, people would ask her father-in-law what language

she was speaking. Her father-in-law jokingly would say it was

Chinese.

The 83-year-old, who has been living in Costa Mesa since 1956, sat

down with the Pilot’s Luis Pena to remember her past.

Where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in the East End of London in a place called

Poplar. It’s a short walk to Blackwall Tunnel. It was one of the

first tunnels built under the Thames River to get to the other side

of Greenwich. They say my grandfather used to go into the tunnel for

safety during the First World War.

It was just a regular neighborhood, mostly working class, I would

say. My father was a postman, but here you would probably call him a

mail carrier. I was born in 1921, and I was there until the house got

bombed. That was 1941. They dropped a bomb outside the house and

demolished it. My dad was at work. He came home, and all he found was

a black space.

What was your childhood like?

In those days, children played together. They played house, things

children don’t play these days. Of course, I was kind of a tomboy,

and I liked to play leapfrog. I know I got in trouble with my mother.

When I jumped over, my black panties showed. I got scolded. It was a

happy childhood, very happy. At 15, you were expected to work and

help out with the family. So, my paycheck at that time was in real

money. You brought it home and gave it to your mother, and she gave

you back a little bit to buy a few things.

How did you end up in Costa Mesa?

We lived for 12 years in Indiana. My mother-in-law used to come

out here. She did private nursing, so that’s why we moved. They had

found a place in Costa Mesa. Since my children had no grandparents in

Indiana, we thought it was a good idea to come out here. We had been

here before, but there was no work, so we went back to Indiana.

What are your greatest accomplishments in life?

I became an American citizen. I instigated a group called the

Fortnightly Club for the English war brides. When I came out here, I

applied to Newport Beach and Costa Mesa cities for positions. I

decided on Costa Mesa. I started out as a typist and ended up as a

senior accountant. I was hired, I guess, by an assistant finance

officer who had also been taught at an English school.

So, I guess it helped because I had an English education, a

British education. So, that was an accomplishment. I worked there for

27 years. I was in the Women’s Land Army. Somebody born in London who

never worked on a farm. When you were finally able to do it, it was

an accomplishment. It’s like getting up at 4:30 a.m., milking the

cows, bringing them in from the fields and all of that stuff.

If you could redo one incident or moment in your life, what would

it be?

I guess I had a pretty good life. I can’t say I’d like to redo any

of it. I guess what I did was meant to be. You know, it’s just one of

those things as you go through life, doing the best you can.

What profession other than yours would you like to have tried?

In school, I got the prize for the best girl in sports for the

four years I was there. So something in sports maybe. Tennis, or

something like that. I don’t think there is anything else I would

have liked to have been. It’s different these days. Kids start

thinking so young about what they want to be. In those days, you just

did things as they came. You were young; you grew up; you left

school; you went to work; you got married.

What are some differences between a typical day in your life now

versus a day in your life 30 to 40 years ago?

I still do a lot more than a lot of people my age. I was always

involved in something. I do most of the same things, except I don’t

have children running around. I still get up at 7 a.m. every day. I

do a lot of reading now, and I knit. I like that. I keep busy. I’m a

member of the senior center, but I don’t go often.

What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in your life?

Never move in with another woman, and never interfere in my

children’s marriages.

Why not? I just remember during the war my sister and her husband

had to move in with my mother and father. That’s when I was in the

Land Army. My mother came home from shopping, and she took off her

coat, and she threw it on a chair. Along came my sister, who picked

up the coat, took it in the bedroom and hung it up. I looked at my

mother’s face, and I thought, ‘Mother, I will never live with another

female.’ Actually, I mean family member.

What do you treasure most?

My family, I guess. Mostly because of their caring ways. I have

them to brighten my days with phone calls. It’s great when they are a

long way away.

What would you like people to always remember about you?

I don’t like to say that I’m a good person, but there’s a lot of

people that I know, who know if they need me, I would be there. I

think that’s because it’s the way I was taught. That’s the way my

parents were.