CRADLING her great, great grandson in her arms 90-year-old Lucy Grocott is in little doubt that times have changed since she was a mum.

The birth of baby Jack Brain last month marked a milestone for the Chippenham family, which now has five generations living in the same road.

Mrs Grocott moved to Chippenham in the 1940s with her husband, Harold, who was a maintenance engineer at the Hullavington base during the war.

She said baby shop Mothercare was not available to mums then and it was difficult bringing up children because food and clothes were carefully rationed.

Mrs Grocott, of London Road, said she had to make a lot of her first daughter Mary's baby clothes herself using scraps of material. She said she made a blouse and a skating skirt for her daughter using material from a barrage balloon, which was shot down at her husband's airbase.

One of her favourite tricks was to turn a pair of her husband's trousers inside out and use them to make other garments. Mrs Grocott, who made coats for other small children, said cricket whites were particularly useful.

"It was hard. There were no washing machines or vacuum cleaners, but things gradually got better. There weren't a lot of toys and there were no disposable nappies, I had to wash each one of them."

Her daughter Mary Jones said when she had her first child she could not drive and had to walk from her home in Hardenhuish to her mum's in Ladyfield Road.

"I didn't have a washing machine to start with," she said. "I didn't really know any different and of course there are supermarkets today which make life a little bit easier."

Mrs Grocott said ideas about pregnancy have radically changed since she gave birth to her two children.

She was made to stay in a hospital bed for ten days after giving birth, but her great granddaughter Hayley Baker, 20, who gave birth to baby Jack on February 11, was discharged after just three.

Mrs Grocott said after giving birth a bolster was wrapped tightly around her to help pull her stomach muscles up and help get her figure back.

Granddaughter Sue Baker, , who had Haley when she was 19, said she was advised to wear a girdle, but she said these days mums were encouraged to visit the gym and do plenty of exercises.

Mrs Grocott said when she was pregnant there was not much information available in books and she did not have television programmes, magazines, the Internet or even her parents to refer to like Hayley.

She said everything was much more formal and reserved and she could not talk to her mother about her pregnancy.

"The war had just started and bombers were flying overhead and I often had to run downstairs with the children," Mrs Grocott said.

"But everyone quickly made friends with their neighbours. Of course there were a lot of young mums with babies, but everybody helped each other out."

Mrs Baker said she did not go to pre-natal classes when she was pregnant because she felt she had enough information from her mum and grandmother.

But Hayley said her family made her go to the classes.

The family had been very supportive about her pregnancy and were painfully honest at times.

"I asked mum and grand Nan 'does it really hurt when you give birth,'" she said.

"They didn't hold back and told me straight that it's really painful."

Mrs Grocott said one of the most significant changes over the years has been changing attitudes towards marriage. She said when she was young it was frowned upon if you were pregnant before you were married, but today attitudes are a lot more liberal.

Hayley, who is not married, but lives with her partner, said she did not feel ready to get married yet.

"I think as long as the mum and dad are happy that's the main thing," her mum, Mrs Baker said.

"I wasn't married when I found out I was pregnant."

But all five generation agreed the support they provide for each other hasn't changed over the years and they were very grateful for the strength of their family.

"I think it's what's lacking in a lot of kids' lives these days," Mrs Baker said.

"A lot of families break up and kids have no stability."

Mum's the word over 62 years

LUCY Grocott, 90, married in 1939 and had two children, Mary Jones, 62, and Peter Grocott, 57.

She remembers rubber pants, known as rubbers, which were worn over nappies.

"I think it may have been harder for mums then because of the war. It made it difficult to get things. I didn't have a washing machine for a long time and had to boil, rub and clean the family's clothes in the sink by hand."

MARY Jones, 62, has three children Sue Baker, 40, Terry Jones, 38, and Lisa Webb, 33.

She said she did not think bringing up children has changed much, but said her family has always supported each other, which has made life easier.

"My mum was there for me, I was there for Sue, and Sue is there for Hayley," she said.

"I never felt like I was on my own bringing up a family, but lots of other people just have to get on with it."

SUE Baker, 40, has three children, Hayley, 20, Matthew, 18, and Danny, 14.

When Hayley was a baby she could not afford disposable nappies, so she used Terry towelling nappies with rubbers, but the rubbers would often crack when hung out to dry.

It was a hard job finding clothes for premature babies.

She made Hayley an all in one baby suit which was her first attempt at sewing clothes.

HAYLEY Baker, 20, has a four-week-old baby boy, Jack.

Miss Baker, who is hoping to complete her training in Bristol as a mental health nurse in September, said she has had to grow up quickly since having him.

She said bringing up a child was still hard but believes she has had it easier than many mums. "There are more facilities for mums today than there used to be, but I still think it's always going to be hard," she said