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This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from the GMR Action Desk on behalf of Nora Helmes and has been added to the site with her permission. Nora fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I had four younger siblings, who were evacuated during the war to Fulwood, near Preston. My father was adamant that they should all be kept together. My parents went to visit them and discovered that the children had been split up. People did not want to take on more than two children. My parents brought them all home after two weeks.

I lived in a big terrace house with an attic in Collyhurst. We had an Anderson shelter in the yard that was made of brick. The shelter was too cold for the children in the winter so my dad reinforced the cellar of our house and put in a fireplace to keep it cosy. The younger children slept in the cellar most nights. It was easier for them to sleep there, then to wake them up and get them out of bed each time a siren went off, especially as there were often false alarms.

On the night of the Blitz, I was on my way back from my boyfriend Jack’s house where I had been for tea with him and his mum. It was about a mile’s walk back to my home. As it was night-time, we could not catch a bus. As we were approaching the bus stop, the siren went off. Jack’s uncle, a butcher, had a shop just opposite the bus stop. He and his family lived above the shop. He called us over and we went into their cellar. We stayed in the ice-box where they kept and hung the beef. It was very cold — freezing, in fact, especially as we were there overnight! The bombs continued to fall. There was a great deal of noise — sounds of fire engines everywhere. The sky was bright red. As far as you could see, Manchester was ablaze. Fortunately, no bombs were dropped on Collyhurst, near Harpurhey, where we were. Jack’s father was an air raid warden so knew when a suspected raid would happen. He knew there was a local raid he could go to when he was at work.

During the blackouts, we hung our curtains up with lining. The curtains had to be drawn at certain times in the day. We carried a torch, gas mask and identity card everywhere we went. It was just something you accepted. I was nineteen years of age at the time but no one questioned it.
The fact that we were at war was most noticeable at night when there were blackouts. Some people used to go to the pictures in the evenings. Sometimes, air raid sirens would go off during the film. The film would keep playing, despite this. Some people in the audience would continue watching the film, while others would leave. It was also noticeable in that everywhere you went there were queues. If you saw a queue, you would just get in it — even if you didn’t know what it was for. Since everything was rationed from cigarettes to nylons, everyone was keen to get their hands on whatever they could.
During the war, I worked as a machinist, making ladies’ coats. As ladies’ coats were not really necessary during the war, our jobs changed. We started making war uniforms instead. We used to make fashionable covers for the boxes that people used to carry their gas masks. As all jobs had to be essential to the war effort, I was compelled to change jobs. At twenty one, I was replaced so that I could do office work in the fire service. I worked at a training centre in Longsight. I still remember my number now 60968.
Jack and I got married in 1941. Jack had been posted to Sawbridges. When I went to see him, I stayed in with a family in the village. While I was there, a doodlebug was dropped near the village. We did not get doodlebugs in the North. They made no sound and travelled very far. The target was an army camp nearby. We could see the planes and hear the sirens but the bomb had already been dropped because they were silent. The family I was staying with had a large table made of steel with strong legs in their house. Instead of going to the shelter, we all got under the table. The table was used as an ordinary table in the day but was strong enough to protect us from anything if it fell. Every time you saw or heard a plane, people would ask ‘Is it one of ours?’ There was a great sense of relief when you realised it was one of ours and not enemy aircraft.

I also remember people catching the train to Warrington to go to dances with the Americans. People used to say they were overpaid and oversexed! The trains were always full though.

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