大象传媒

What did little girls of six yrs old get up to in the first yr of the war?
My cousin and I were living in an end cottage in 1939, At the other end of the row of cottages lived a lady with her little girl. We had originally gone for just a fortnight's holiday to Elham, 3 miles from Canterbury ,my parents renting the cottage for the duration. However, when the day came that war broke out, it was decided we should stay and not return to our homes in the suburbs of London.
As 6 yrs old, we were allowed to play outside, and in doing so got to know this other little girl.
Talking as children do, we found conversation a little difficult with the new playmate. She didn't pronounce words like we did. Then we were told that the woman was a GERMAN lady.
We knew the war had started, it being broadcast on the radio that this country called Germany and England were at war. There were rumblings of vehicles on manouvres through the village. We didn't really understand the implications of being 'at war'.In those days children did as they wee told and didn't ask too many questions.
We weren't allowed to go into our new playmate's house. We were allowed to go to a local hill, taking tin trays to slide down on.
One day we asked that the little girl come with us. My Mother packed us up a lunch of bread , butter and jam. In those early days of the war, butter could still be bought at the local dairy.
The little German girl took one bite of her sandwich and spat it out!. We explained that it was butter and jam she was tasting. She couldn't pronounce the word properly.Because of family conversation we had overheard, we decided that we shouldn't be liking this German girl. she was the ENEMY!.
6 yr old little girls can be so unkind!. What ensued at that picnic we thought was very funny at the time, but with hindsight we were well out of order.
My cousin pretended she had a sweet in her pocket to give to the playmate. She asked the little girl to close her eyes, open her mouth and she would get a surprise. The little German girl did as she was asked, to find.. not a sweet, but a baby snail on her tongue!. This was our way of paying her back for spitting out the sandwich my Mum had made!. In later years my mother told me that at that time, the German woman was confined to the house by the authorities, and her husband deported back to Germany.When at first we weren't allowed in the playmate's house, we just thought it was the decision of my mother and didn't ask the reason, but just before we returned to our homes at the end of that first yr, we were allowed into the playmate's house. Just the one time I recall. The lasting memory of the inside was that it was very dark, but there in all its glory in the parlour was the biggest rocking horse I had ever seen!.I was so envious. I often wondered what became of the German womsn, her husband, and their little girl.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.