大象传媒

when the war started i was 9 years old. My school was the old Lynnfield school in Murray St, most of the boys department were evacuated to Scarbrough, but 99% of us were brought home after a few weeks. The school had been turned into an ambulance station, but not for long. We all had gas masks issued ti us and we had ti carry them all the time. Food became rationed together wuth clothing, footwear and some other household goods. (furniture, etc)

Petrol mwas only available for essential use, but i think you could have 1 gallon a month for your own use if you really needed it, permits were needed.

A few bombs were dropped on the town, but we were lucky mot to have more, Church St. lost an electrical shop and the Yorkshire bank, next door was also hit and had to move, also a pub. The Railway Station was near to all this and it lost it's glass roof.

As far as myself, school got started again and a few of our teachers went in the services. I forgot the blackout, no light was allowed during darkness and all headlights on vehicles were masked - back at school we had air raid shelters built in the school yard and also the school bell at 9am was stopped. Church bells didn't ring - if they did, it was the signal to everyone that the germans had landed to invade the country.

As clothing wore out, mothers had to repair it as best they could, shirt tails became new collars, socks were knitted and so forth, and if you had a garden you grew vegetables.

When i had my 11th birthday my mother bought me a bicycle, it was the last one in the shop (Eddy Taylors) with chrome wheels, but is till had to walk to school (25 mins. At school once per week we had a vitamin c tablet to chew to help keep us healthy, although as it turned out, we became the healthiest generation of all time, food rationing saw to that.

For entertainment we went to the cinema, (7 cinemas) so plenty of choice, if you had any money. For a treat it was the 'Empire' for a live show. The radio was the major thing, if you had one, dance bands, variety shows, news and talks, only two wave bands, the home service and the forces programme. But some people tuned in to Lord Haw Haw from Germany. As soon as i was 14 I left school and started work, and that was the day my education started, but that is another story.

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