大象传媒

Beryl Sebire (n茅e Saich) interviewed by Matt Harvey, Social History Officer, Guernsey Museum. The interview recorded on video. The video transcribed by J David 5-8/9/2005

鈥︹�︹��.. What were you eating while you were over there?
Beryl Sebire. Rations, you mean? Well, everything was rationed. And funnily enough, I was looking through some papers the other day, and we were rationed over here, and I looked at the date, and it was in 1953 we came off rationing. 1953. it was quite a long time. How I know it鈥檚 like that, my first boy was born in 49, and everything was rationed, it gradually got a bit easier, 53, my second one was born, that鈥檚 how I can remember that. We had what鈥檚 called a points system, we had ration books as well, and you were allowed so many points, you could either have it as bacon or meat or something in the meat line, and they crossed it off. Then if you wanted something in the way of fat, you could either have butter, two ounces of butter we were allowed, or marge, or lard, but you couldn鈥檛 have butter, marge, and lard, just two ounces of one of them. When I was at Uxbridge, three of us, my Aunt used to get six ounces of butter one week, six ounces of marge the next, and six ounces of lard. But I was supposed to have extra milk, and they used to pinch my milk ration. I鈥檝e never forgiven them that! Because I was in my early teens, and people in their early teens got an extra pint of milk. We had our food at the canteen, because it was too far to walk in the lunch hour, I used to say to her sometimes, good food down there, it was lovely. One and theepence, and if you had a pudding it was another threepence. I remember those days well. I came home and said 鈥渙h I had a lovely dinner today, biggest piece of beef I鈥檝e ever seen in my life, it was that high and that round鈥� 鈥淥h yes, tell us another鈥� 鈥淚t was, and you know what it was, I found out afterwards, piece of horse, piece of horse, so I was quite right when I said it was like that. I thought it was a piece of beef, lovely piece of beef, that high, It came out that it was a piece of horse. I鈥檇 never have eaten it if I鈥檇 known, but it was lovely.
I鈥︹�︹��.. So when you got your rations, how long did it have to last for, then?
Beryl Sebire. It was a weekly affair. If you wanted, you could save it up, perhaps a person on their own, perhaps they鈥檇 save it up for two or three weeks, it looked a lot more. Each page was a weekly ration. My aunt was naughty, she used to have rubber, and the chap in the grocer鈥檚 would mark it in pencil, she used to rub the pencil out. We didn鈥檛 go very short in Uxbridge, I can tell you! But why not [laughter] we鈥檇 not done anything to cause the war so why should we suffer? I said 鈥測ou shouldn鈥檛 do that鈥� 鈥淎h, I鈥檓 not the only one as does it! Why do you think Mr 鈥� I can鈥檛 remember his name 鈥� ticks it out in pencil 鈥� anyone else would use a pen鈥�. 鈥淭here鈥檚 your ration book, he used to say, looking at her like this, I knew what he was up to鈥� It wasn鈥檛 too bad, actually, and my uncle had an allotment as well, it was a railway allotment, because he used to work on the railway, he used to grow vegetables there, and groceries we didn鈥檛 go short, not really, there wasn鈥檛 masses, but it wasn鈥檛 too bad.
I鈥︹�︹��.. How were you getting about at the time, were you walking everywhere? Were you using your bicycle?
Beryl Sebire. No, I used to walk everywhere, I hardly ever use the bus. Sometimes on a Saturday I鈥檇 walk from Uxbridge to Southall, which is five miles, and visit my aunt, and I鈥檇 walk there and walk back. Thought nothing about it. Quite fascinated when I first went over with the trolleybuses, up on the wires, with electric poles, you know, I鈥檇 sit in the front, up on top, have a good view. After the war, my husband was quite ill, went to Brompton Hospital, he died, he had heart and lung problems, smoked, he stopped but it was too late. And we鈥檇 often go to Brompton Hospital for this and that, had things done to him, and as we were going through Southall he鈥檇 say 鈥淚 know where we are, but if I was to close my eyes I鈥檇 know where we are, curry, everywhere curry.鈥� What do they call those people, the ones with the Saris, Indians, and there were some others as well, I don鈥檛 know what they were, but they all had these Saris. My aunt in Southall, my mum鈥檚 sister, that let us have the bits and pieces for our flat, her daughter, my cousin Rene, she said, 鈥淥h, we know what they鈥檝e got again for dinner鈥� it used to come in through the windows and everywhere else, you know, it was curry, curry everywhere.

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