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This story was submitted to the People's War website by Daniel Jones for GMR Actiondesk on behalf of Miss Celia Tyson and has been added with her permission. The author is fully aware of the terms and conditions of the site.

I was 15 at the beginning. It was one day I was a schoolgirl, the next I was out to work at the textile mill in Marple. It was a case of you couldn’t say ‘no’. We hadn’t a lot of money, and we had to work to help the war effort and make do and mend.

At the mill we were making calico for uniforms for the servicemen and munitions workers. There we odd pieces and strips of calico which we could have, we made them into pillowcases and things. And we went to the big house — the carvers’ house, and put this calico into strips to lie onto the sets and frames to put over the guns and plains for camouflage. We had to tear it into strips.

In the hall there was the Home Guard doing their things, and the WUS, preparing food for the British restaurant in Marple. There were big containers with vegetables in them. We were given an overall and a badge to make it official. I still have the WUS badge. I was only about 16 then.

Then there were the knitting parties, knitting squares for blankets, for bombed-out people, and scarves and gloves and balaclava helmets for troops. We also had to go collecting scraps from people and feed the hens to get eggs, and to dig for victory. We all had allotments to grow as much food as we could. They turned Marple Park into allotments. But some people went and pinched the vegetables. Not everyone was kind during the war. We used to unpick the jumpers, wash the wool and re-knit them. Sometimes for our family to sell for the war effort it was all make do and mend.

On VE day I went up to Meller Hill to see the bonfires. You could them for miles.

There were a lot of people killed from Marple. I remember this young paratrooper, Gibson, he was killed on ship off Italy. It struck a mine, and all were killed. It was ever more a tragedy, because his parents and two young sisters were all killed when a bomb was dropped on their field, so all family were wiped out. Then there was Tony Hamman, he was in the RAF, flying over Germany when they were hit. They got back to the North Sea, but had to bale out and his parachute didn’t open.

Marple was a very small close-knit community. So when things like this happened, we all knew and were very sad.

During the war we all had to save and raise money for the war effort; they wanted £40,000 for a minesweeper. So Marple saved and had all sorts of events and raised in excess of £60,000, with the help of local firms. And it was called HMS Marple. We were all so proud. They then went on to raise more money and eventually raised enough for the cost of a Lancaster bomber, four Spitfires, and four Hurricanes. It really was a tremendous place, everyone pulling together. We were even commended for the excellent blackout.

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