大象传媒

This story appears courtesy of and with thanks to The Liverpool Diocesan Care and Repair Association and James Taylor.

I had a large family of eleven children to look after during the war. I had ten books. I had books for all of them and in fact I could afford to give some away because I had that many. I couldn鈥檛 afford to buy butter. I used to know a woman and she used to go around the good houses and get good clothes. She used to swop coupons for clothes. She traded like that you know, curtains that were second hand, but good, she鈥檇 sell them for coupons. I had plenty of ration books and I鈥檇 give this woman, maybe the butter, and she鈥檇 give me some things for the children, trousers or a couple of jerseys. Things I couldn鈥檛 afford.
They had coupons for furniture. You would have to apply for them. It was what you called utility furniture. They weren鈥檛 posh, they were plain things. I never had nothing like that, I always got second hand.

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