大象传媒

I remember when i was 22 year of age and I was in Tynemouth with my mother Elsie Armstrong and my father Edward Armstrong. We witnessed the battleship HMS Kelly limp into the Tyne in 1942. Lord Mountbatton was in charge of the ship and his skill manoevered the distressed vessel into port on the River Tyne. The ship had been involved in heavy gunfire at sea and was in a distressed state and came into the Tyne for repair probably on the many shipyards on the Tyne.

I worked during the war at a greengrocers in Blyth, Northumberland with my husband to be, Roland Atkinson. Om market days at weekends the shop was extremly busy even though we did not have alot to sell. Rationing was imposed, oranges were in great demand. I alway put so many aside for regualar customers who I looked after and became good friends to me. Blyth was a mining area and submarine base during the war and the people were so friendly to me during my three year stay. I travelled to Blyth every day from North Shileds. I walked from my house in percy Maim to North Shileds which warmed me up in the winter months. I then got a bus from North Shields Centre to Blyth. The bus was double decker, no doors and no heating. My weekly ticket cost six shilling and I made this journey every day except Sundays.
I went to church every Sunday, helped with the family housework and in the evening I went to the local YMCA on a voluntary basis to peel potatoes and make chips for the forces.
1n 1941 there was a severe snow storm, my brother rang me to tell me to close the shop at 3pm and get home because the roads were bad. I ignored his warning and stayed open till 5pm. I went to the bus station later that evening and there was no buses to take me home. The United bus took me to New Hartley, Whitley Bay. I was with a friend who was a cashier at Woolworths and we walked linking arms thigh deep in snow giigling when we fell into a ditch waist high! We limped home together and eventually caught a bus later on in our journey and got home much later than expected. My brother was not amused!
I also remember a German bomber plane coming over Whitley Bay and I was caught in the cross fire as a "ack - ack gun" which were lined up along the coastal broadway fired at the plane.

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