大象传媒

Although my name is Edith I鈥檝e always been known as Sissie, because my brother, when he was a toddler, called me 鈥渉is Sissie鈥� and the name stuck. I was born in 1910 and have lived in Wymondham all my life. I had beautiful long auburn hair when I was young and I remember one of two Americans whose washing my mother took in cheeking me and calling me 鈥淕inger.鈥�

I was a child during the First World War and a single mother of 29, with a school-age son, when the Second World War began in 1939. I started my working life at Friars Croft laundry in Wymondham and later I went to work for the Wymondham Laundry Company, where I was a forewoman. I married Frederick Thompson in 1937. Fred and I both worked at the laundry. He was not called up because his job as foreman in the washhouse was a reserved occupation, but he joined the Home Guard and some nights used to go out on the main road near Kett鈥檚 Oak on the lookout for any Germans lurking in the hedges.

I was in charge of the Calender, a machine with huge rollers on which large sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths were pressed. I had a serious accident while using it one day. I saw that a crease was about to go under the roller and I stood on an unfixed platform to try to damp it out by hand. The platform tipped and I fell forward with one arm against the moving rollers. I screamed, and fortunately the girl on the opposite side switched the machine off straight away, but my arm was just caught by the rollers. It wasn鈥檛 broken but stripped of flesh from elbow to wrist. I didn鈥檛 go to the hospital, only to my doctor. He bandaged me up and put my arm in a sling. I was off work for sixteen weeks. I still have the scar. I was paid wages while I was off work, but no compensation.

During the war most of the washing done at the laundry was for the armed forces. Some civilian laundry still came in, though, and I remember one particular pair of ladies鈥� bloomers 鈥� huge black ones, they were, and I put them on and ran around the laundry in them for a laugh 鈥� they looked like the blackout curtains we had hanging at the laundry windows.

We used to stand in the garden and watch the bombers flying over. Once a piece of shrapnel fell into our yard.

When Norwich was bombed we stood out in the garden and watched the 鈥渃handeliers鈥� as we called them, dropped over the city. They were long strings with lights on them 鈥� I think to light the city as a target for the German planes. Next day we鈥檇 ride our bikes over to look at the damage. I saw one poor old lady whose house had been bombed trying to sort out her belongings in the ruins.

I don鈥檛 remember rationing being too much of a problem as far as food went. We grew cabbages, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables and we kept chickens for the eggs. Fred used to get an occasional rabbit with his gun. There wasn鈥檛 much other meat. We lived mostly on vegetables. I鈥檝e never been much of a one for sugar. Perhaps I never got the taste for it because of the rationing.

I always had to have two evacuees. I was paid five shillings a week. For most of the war I had two elderly ladies from Yarmouth, who shared the front bedroom. The next-door neighbour had evacuees too. Sometimes they all went out together to the Old Oak pub (it isn鈥檛 there now) for an evening and I鈥檇 babysit for the neighbours. If the baby woke I鈥檇 give her a dummy dipped in treacle.

Our own daughters were born at home in 1944. Nobody realised I was expecting twins. The nurse was surprised and my husband nearly fainted. He had to go into Norwich for extra baby things 鈥� nappies and so on. I was paid child benefit for only one. It was five shillings a week. I鈥檇 save it up until I had enough money for two pairs of shoes or whatever the girls needed. I was in the post鈥攐ffice one day with a queue of women waiting for our payments when I heard a woman behind me laugh and say to another 鈥淲ell, I can buy my cigarettes now!鈥� I was so angry I turned around and told her off.

We didn鈥檛 have an Anderson shelter in the garden. We鈥檙e right next to farm fields and when the air raids first started we鈥檇 just run across and crouch in the field ditch. Eventually a dugout shelter with seats was made just across the road. Usually about three families used it. We were frightened, of course, when the raids were on, but when it was quiet we鈥檇 talk. One evening we were making so much noise laughing and talking that we didn鈥檛 hear the 鈥渁ll clear鈥� and stayed there all night. For a while we did use the dugout almost every night, though when I鈥檇 just had the babies I used to hide them under the kitchen table instead because getting across to the dugout with them was too difficult.

At one time a doodlebug went over and exploded in a nearby field. We went over later to look at the hole it had left and saw a rabbit there with its legs off.

We had ID cards, but I don鈥檛 remember ever having to show mine to anyone. We also had to carry gasmasks, but I don鈥檛 recall any practices or safety drills.

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