MEDICINE HAT, AB — Marjorie Baguley doesn’t know very many people who can recite the alphabet backwards.
It’s something she remembers learning nearly 80 years ago.
She was seven years old and living in Nottingham, England, when the Second World War began.
“We had to go in the air raid shelters when the bombs were dropping,” she said. “The teachers use to read stories or we used to sing songs.”
One day, to keep the kids entertained, her teacher, Ms. Bailey, had suggested they learn the alphabet backwards.
“I went home and I told my dad and he said, ‘well, if you do that and you can say it, I will give you sixpence’,” she said.
At that time, sixpence was a lot of money.
“It could buy you, probably, six bars of chocolate,” she said with a smile.
These days, Marjorie makes reciting the alphabet look easy.
Her personal record is six seconds.
She said it took her about two weeks to learn it and she still remembers it because of Ms. Bailey.
“Some people say ‘what use is it to you though?’ and I say, well, it isn’t any use really, but it’s just something you achieve and when you’re very young, to achieve something like that, it really makes you feel good,” she said.
Marjorie said she had to wait about a week, but her dad did follow through with his promise.
She said she remembers sharing the chocolate with her brothers and sisters, which also made her father proud.
“He said ‘I thought would give them something, but to share it was good’ and it made me feel good.”
