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This story is about a student at Teacher Training College, Langham Tower, Sunderland (part of the University) women’s college, during the war, 1940-42 where Sunderland suffered many heavy air raids. I was at college when Binns shops were destroyed, also the Victoria Hall.

We were treated more like boarding girls than more mature people. We attended lectures all day and we did have hockey (winter) and tennis (summer). We had ‘high tea’ at 5.00 pm and allowed to leave the college premises (hostel) until 6.30, we had private study in our study bedrooms from 6.45 until 8.45 then we went to the common room for a hot drink (cocoa) until 10.00 pm, when we had to go to our rooms, lights out were at 10.30 we had a tutor on each floor who checked that our lights were indeed out.

Our ration books were taken from us while at college, but we were allowed a little pot in which we had 2 oz butter and a ¼ of margarine, which lasted a week. Our high tea consisted of a very plain meal for example — slices of carrot on a pastry base covered in white sauce. For lunch we had rabbit every week and for example we had our FAMOUS FLY CEMETERY, which was pastry with currents (shiny black currants), we were allowed at week ends to make a small meal for ourselves namely baked beans on toast with a scrapping of butter.

On the first floor with the company of many mice, cockroaches on the ground floor (near the kitchen) In order to keep the mice out of our rooms we barricaded the gap under the door with our wool rugs and jammed with hockey sticks to keep in place. In case of fire namely incenery bombs we took turns at being on fire duty having been instructed by a fire man in the use of a stirrup pump, our duty consisted on staying awake until 2.30 am in the common room when we were relieved by other students who were on duty till early morning. At 2.00 am we went to the kitchen surrounded by the cockroaches where a flask was left and biscuits on the plate under a basin (so the cockroaches could not get at them) we tucked our trouser legs into our socks before we ventured into the kitchen !!

Every night we had to put on our wincette pyjamas, blue slacks, pe sweater and top coat in preparation for the air raids. We had a small bag or case for our ‘valuables’ ready to leave the building. During my first year we used a public air raid shelter which was extremely wet,in fact there was water running down the middle of it where we sailed match sticks (Oxford to Cambridge). During our second year we used the basement of a college building as a shelter, it was fitted out with bunk canvas beds at least we were dry and warmer. We had periods of school practice when we went out to work in schools. During one of the practices 1940-41 (snow was so thick) all the trams were stopped and there was a track down the middle of the main road where we walked to school. The schools were reinforced with extra big walls especially in the cloakrooms where the children could go in an emergency.

We did our outside pe training on the tennis courts where we were often cheered on by soldiers who were billeted next door and who appeared at the windows as soon as we ventured out — our bunny hops and aeroplanes were greatly appreciated, after all we were infant teachers at the making!

I made many friends and am still in contact with 3 specials.

There were 4 but one has died recently. We were known at The Jefid in other words Joy, Edith, Freda, Ida and Dorothy.

THE END

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