大象传媒

Before the war we regularly went shopping to Birmingham our nearest big city. My Mum was a great shopper. She loved nice clothes and especially hats which of course were worn by everyone then.
There might be a war on but it didn鈥檛 stop us. We didn鈥檛 go as much during the war but we did go quite often when there was a bus running.

It was a shock to see the shops that had been bombed out and the dummies hanging out of the windows looking burned and grotesque. You just accepted that it had been bombed and that was that. Very matter of fact. You simply stepped over the debris, or sometimes it would be cordoned off. Often they left the fire hoses lying on the ground ready for the next bombing raid. There was also a horrible smell of burning, smoke and soot.

Sometimes there would be a shop selling bomb damaged goods and you could get a bargain that wasn鈥檛 too badly damaged. You鈥檇 go in and be able to smell the smoke or singeing on everything. You might get towels or bedding a bit cheaper if you were lucky. Not sure if you still had to use your coupons.

We always finished up by going for a ham roll and a cup of tea at a sort of cafe near the bus station.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Sue Broome of the CSV Action Desk at 大象传媒 Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Kathleen Robinson (Nee Jennings) and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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