大象传媒

This story was submitted to the people's war site by Zach Bromberg McCarthy and Jendayi Davis of the Back In the Day project on behalf of Mrs Martin, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

The following extracts were taken from an interview, which was conducted by the above named persons on the 27th of October 2005.

Mrs Martin was born in Clarendon, Jamaica and is the youngest of a large family of 6. Mrs Martin was only a baby when war was declared but she remembers her parents making reference to the war. Mrs Martin recalls: 鈥淚 heard my parents and my grandfather said that when war is on its very difficult鈥� most things that we wanted in the house we couldn鈥檛 obtain in the shop. Such things like Kerosene oil, matches, soap, blue and cooking oil, came from foreign countries.

鈥淲hen my parents send the bigger ones to the shop鈥� they couldn鈥檛 get some of those things and my parents would sit down and says. ` War is on again what they going to do about it?鈥欌��

Prices went up on imported goods because they were in short supply but after selling such things as home-grown coffee and ginger it was sometimes possible for Mrs Martins family to buy petrol, kerosene oil, and blue, cooking oil.

鈥淎s soon as the war stopped you go to the shops and could get those things to buy.鈥�

Q: Did any of your family go to war?

鈥淣one of my family fought in the war.鈥�

Q: What contributions did your island make to the war effort?

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if my parents did give anything but the island did export goods.
My parents wouldn鈥檛 say that we were fighting with the Germans or the British鈥ut we (Jamaica) got involved in the war because we couldn鈥檛 obtain the things we needed.鈥�

Q: What was school like back in the day?

鈥淢y school was fantastic because we learn very good lessons and we have school parade鈥 very nice thing because you have to dress up. Girls didn鈥檛 wear trousers, you had to dress in your skirt below your knees, with your school blouse and your nice hat - you have on a nice hat with your badges on it and your shoes. You have to be well dress when going on school parade.

鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 always have to wear school uniform. When you blouse did dirty you did have to wear a frock.鈥�

Q: What did the teacher tell you about the war?

鈥淚 can鈥檛 remember what teacher said, only heard when I grew up (about the war) through parents.鈥�

Q: Do you remember anything about the news/broadcasting of the war?

鈥淚 don鈥檛 remember radio broadcast about the war. To me there was no war in Jamaica, but being we were British we had to get the British news...When you go and buy the newspaper you hear everything, but in Jamaica there was no war fighting at that time.鈥�

Q: What was your social life like back then?

"In my spare time I did sewing, crochet and embroidery or else you were working in the field with your parents. We didn鈥檛 go to dances鈥ust went to church鈥ll our entertainment was church鈥ent to church all the while.

鈥淚 was so bad lucky I didn鈥檛 have a boyfriend- up to now I don鈥檛 have one.鈥�

In 1965 Mrs Martin moved to the meadows in Nottingham- this was where her finance鈥� and some of her relatives also lived. Her parents didn鈥檛 really want her to travel but because most of the other girls were leaving Jamaica she decided to leave also. She recalls: 鈥淲hen I came the place was alright, I get a job, come back into my house, go to church and I was alright.鈥�

Q: What was your first job?

鈥淭he first job I went into was knitting and according to how it went鈥 begin knitting until I became the best knitter in the country. (We were not sure how true this was)鈥 can knit with or without pattern and things like that鈥 could knit what they couldn鈥檛, I could read patterns, I could get a piece of paper and make a pattern."

Mrs Martin remains a creative person even till this day. She shows us some colourful beaded bracelets she made earlier.

鈥淚 worked on a lace machine making petty coats until 6am in the morning and the following week until 10pm鈥hift work. Britain was a lot different then. I didn鈥檛 know that wages was so small鈥hen Friday come you only have a couple pence in your hands.鈥�

Q: Was there much difference between home and Britain?

鈥淭o me it wasn鈥檛 much different only that they were white in England and I was coloured from a coloured background. We had the same training. Brought up the same and everything.

Q: When you arrived Britain did not have as many black citizens as it does today. Did you experience any racism?

鈥淵es there were some places that you go and there was a colour bar. Some places you go to buy a drink they wouldn鈥檛 want to serve you and things like that鈥ut I went to supermarket to buy my food, read my books and kept myself to myself.鈥�

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