- Contributed by听
- Guernseymuseum
- People in story:听
- Mrs Ethel Wolley (n茅e Blatchford)
- Location of story:听
- Barnet
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A6950900
- Contributed on:听
- 14 November 2005
Extract from edited transcript of Mrs Ethel Wolley (n茅e Blatchford) interviewed by 大象传媒 Radio Guernsey 5/2/05.
Transcribed by John David
So then I went to Barnet and I worked for Moores, it was a surgical place, surgical factory, very modern, who made dressings and equipment for Mrs Churchill鈥檚 fund, Mr Churchill鈥檚 wife had a fund, 鈥淎id to Russia鈥, and I used to make these field dressings to be sent to Russia, and our forces as well.
I鈥︹︹. Did you feel safer being out of London?
Well you still had risk, but it was more concentrated in London, they were really out to blast London to pieces. But you didn鈥檛 get any sleep, at night the sirens would go, early evening, and I would go down to the shelter, we had an old dog there, called Old Moll, and he would bark, and take you to where his lead was on the wall, and we would go down to the shelter together. Sometimes Aunt Edie was with me, but she worked at Mount Pleasant Post office, which of course is the main Post Office for London, if the siren went, they had to remain, so many many a night I was in that air-raid shelter with just the dog, and about seven in the morning you would crawl out stiff, tired, cold, and then you鈥檇 do a days work, I suppose I had about two hours鈥 sleep for weeks and weeks, and then when you had several hours鈥 sleep you felt dreadful.
I鈥︹︹. I suppose people must have just ignored things like cold and flu?
Well in the War everyone worked together, you were all aiming for one thing, Victory. Nearly every family had somebody in the forces or doing war work. There was a certain amount of black marketing went on I suppose, but among the ordinary people you all shared your memories, you all worked together.
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