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This story was submitted to the People's War site by Lin Freeman of Radio Derby CSV on behalf of E.M KNEWSTUBB and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

During the war, a woman teacher was in a ‘reserved occupation’. When I registered, I was told to carry on with my job — which I did.

Part of my wartime teaching was done in Leeds, at a school on the outskirts of the city. Leeds did not suffer as much enemy action as some other places, and although the children had their gas masks and could respond to an air raid warning, thankfully we did not need to do so.

Many of the children’s mothers were at work, and so school dinners were supplied — much the same as they are today, with ‘dinner ladies’ serving the meals, which arrived ready cooked. The teachers supervised the children, and we did ‘dinner duty’ on a rota system. Later, breakfast at 8 a.m., and tea after afternoon school were similarly supplied and staffed, and the subsidised cost of meals, if I remember correctly, was 2d for breakfast, 4d for dinner and 2d for tea. (Old money of course). Dinner was a two course, hot meal. Breakfast and tea consisted of sandwiches filled with spam, jam or perhaps cheese or dripping. I think there may sometimes have been porridge for breakfast too.

After tea, the children could stay at school under supervision, until they were collected by their parents — until 7p.m if necessary. The school was opened and similarly staffed during the school holidays. This arrangement was known as E.P.C. — ‘Emergency Play Centre’. Although our work was not spectacular, we were ‘The girls behind the girls behind the men behind the guns’, and therefore perhaps of ‘National importance’.

Two wartime hints which my younger friends find very difficult to believe:

1. A bra could be made using two large handkerchiefs.

2. Liquid paraffin could replace fat in a plain sponge cake.

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