大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by Nona Dougherty of the GMR Action Desk on behalf of John David Lappin and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

This part continues from Parts 1 and 2 and tells of his other vivid memories!

The rusty tins of food without labels which were supposed to have come from a ship which had been sunk and then later the cargo was salvaged. You took pot luck when you opened them!
The horse meat shops in Oldham - this meat was not on ration I believe!
Near the end of the war the large tins of jam from South Africa, which were full of sugar which, aftern the tin was opened, granualted on the top of the jam.
Also, when we were all told to take paper bags to school, this was for us to receive a gift from school kids in Canada. It was a very sweet dry cocoa powder. The idea was for you to take it home, mix with milk and drink, but we all could not resist sticking our wet fingers in to the mixture and eating it - "nectar"!
Early in the war the local Home Guard used to practice in the fields near our estate. They used to throw banger type fireworks, and on the rifles were strings of what looked like the strips in crackers which make the bang. These attached strips were to take the place of bullets, making a loud bang when pulled! We used to point out to the attacking units where the supposed enemy units were hiding in ambush!
The lone German plane which, on one Bank Holiday afternoon late in the war, attacked and shot up the A.V. Roe factory in Chadderton. This factory was built only about a mile as the crow flies from our housewith nothing between only fields! He was that low, Mother thought he was going to hit the house, still firing! He came so quick we did not have time to reach the shelter - we just dropped to the ground in the garden! He later carried on to Bowlee where he attacked the camp there.

One night my Mam woke me up and told me to get dressed quickly. We went out and joined a party at the top of the street.

"The War in Europe was Over"!

The grown ups were dancing to records on a wind up gramaphone and some of my mates started banging dustbin lids together!
A neighbour had saved some fireworks from before the war - the first I had ever seen, at 8 years old!. During the war they were not available, you even had to have a November the 5th bonfire during the day, not at night, due to the blackout. A bonfire was lit in the street and for many years after you could see the damage to the tarmac and the heat split kerb stones!
The V.J. street party was better organised. We spent days collecting wood and cutting branches off trees for a huge bonfire on a local field. Tables, chairs and benches were borrowed from a local school and all the mothers somehow managed to put on a spread of food, the like of which I had only ever seen at the pictures on American films.

Just after the war, the ex-army stores in Manchester were like an Aladdin's cave for an 11/12 year old. You could cheaply pick up flexible tank ariels which quickly converted into fishing rods, slick commando knives, some with knuckle dusters combined in the handle. There were throwing knives which nearly always stuck in a tree or door when thrown. The G.I's all had a waterproof cape which with another one, quickly could be converted into a 2 man tent - they were press studded together - a brilliant idea! This gave us cheap tents plus very cheap mess tins etc.

On the whole, a very exciting time for a young boy and not a stress counsellor in sight! I do not think they had been invented in those days!

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