大象传媒

This was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from CSV London on behalf of Bernard Marks and has been added to the site with his permission. Bernard Marks understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was born Bernard Markovich on the 9th of September 1933 in Whitechapel. Well, it was Aldgate really but you鈥檇 always make out it was the East End. If you were from the East End then you were a Cockney and that was the best thing to be. It was a wonderful area, Christians and Jews lived together and everyone helped one another out. There were no real troubles. We lived in harmony.

My name changed to Marks because it was easier that way. Lots of people would change their name. It was nothing to do with being embarrassed about being Jew. My dad was a tailor and was so popular. People would always come into the shop and make a big fuss of him. We weren鈥檛 a very religious family but we were always so proud to be Jewish, just like my children are now. In fact, my son is more religious than me! I went to the Jewish school in Stepney Green. I鈥檒l always remember the Headteacher Mr Benson. He鈥檇 look at me and say, 鈥淏ernie one of these days I鈥檓 going to give you such a smack!鈥� He never did though.

We鈥檇 get up to all kinds of things as kids. We loved football and would play it anywhere we could. We鈥檇 always joke, 鈥淣o Arsenal supporters here鈥�. Being Jewish was never a problem. We were a real community. It was only the little things that were different. If we were out with friends we鈥檇 not have a bacon sandwich but we鈥檇 have a cheese sandwich instead. Little things like that. I still meet up with my childhood friends from the East End. We have a special bond.

When the war broke out it was quite exciting in a way. We all got used to it and us kids stuck together a lot. My brothers and sister are a bit younger than me and we鈥檇 all look after eachother. We never felt scared, not really. If the siren went off then we鈥檇 all go down underneath the flats to a shelter. We鈥檇 get taken down there by an uncle or an aunt if our mum and dad were at the factory or in the shop.

We could play down there, all kinds of games. Sometimes we鈥檇 stay there together, everyone together, all through the night.
My wife Rhona remembers one time, two boys were drawing in chalk on the side of the air raid shelter and they drew a picture of Hitler. Well, did they get a hiding! People would be so nice to us, saying 鈥渨e love you, don鈥檛 you worry about anything鈥�.

When I was about ten in 1943 we moved to Hackney. No one ever gave us any trouble before but we started to have more people hassling us. We鈥檇 try to keep our distance from the Catholics. Sometimes they鈥檇 take the Mickey out of you, but we鈥檇 take no notice. The police were always very good to us. They鈥檇 say 鈥淭ake no notice of them Bernie鈥�. It was just a joke quite often. Quite a few Germans came over after the war and they鈥檇 laugh and say 鈥淥h, you Jewish British!鈥�. Funnily enough, some of them were really quite nice.

At the end of the war we moved to Essex. Dad wanted us out of London. He said it was because we would be closer to Tottenham Hotspurs but the war had changed things in a way. I joined the army myself when I was 18 and I went to Germany, France and Italy with them. I had quite a good time of it. When I got back I worked in a Jewish then a Christian butchers and then I worked as a driver for a tailors.

I鈥檒l have always have such fond memories of growing up in the East End. It was such a wonderful area, it really was. I like to have a laugh and be nice to people and its always seen me through.

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