大象传媒

I was almost 15 yrs old when war was declared ;I had left school and started work.

Along with friends my own age I don鈥檛 think we really knew what to expect, our parent鈥檚 on the other hand had lived through the First world war.

Although our parents always seem old to us when we are young, my father would only have been 42yrs old at that time, when the call came for men with ship building trades to go back to Vickers, my dad went back to riveting this was to be replaced later with welding of the ships plates.

When I was 19 yrs I got my calling up papers, also choosing Vickers I did have a choice of tack welding or labouring, being snobbish at that time I took tack welding.

I think reality came to us when the time came to collect our ration books and gas masks. Then some of the children where evacuated, my brother being one of them. However my mam and dad did visit him whenever possible. There was a great upheaval for some families, one uncle of mine being in the TA was among the first to be called up. He was injured at the evacuation of Dunkirk, so spent the rest of the war in a German prison camp, not seeing his wife or toddler daughter for six years.

Those of us on reaching the age of 16 years had also to carry our identity cards.

The bombing of Barrow-in-Furness what can one say?
It certainly was no picnic, we were told by the authorities people without shelters should get under the stairs in the house, or under a dining table. Looking back we really diced with death as we had the main gas pipes leading to the gas meter in our house, but at the time no thought was given to that. Eventually shelters were built in the back streets, two double ones in ours. The worst night I can remember we had very heavy bombing, Hindpool being the worst hit. A lot of devastation and loss of life also that was the night we lost our front bedroom windows. Being told later the aircraft carrier Illustrious had opened up her guns. This was also one of the nights major industrial towns such as Liverpool and Belfast were badly damaged.

A week or two later my mother opened the front door, to be met by the police. They informed her that we had a spare room there was no option but to take in Navy personnel. As one ship sailed we got a different crew and this went on until the war ended.

I was just 17 years old when my boyfriend informed me he had joined the navy, he left to start his training on February 2nd 1942.

After his training he joined HMS Wildgoose and served with that flotilla in the battle of the Atlantic. Also they did some of the Russian Convoys. We were married in December 1945, when I was 21 years old. The war being over but demob not completed.

We have a lot of memories to look back on. Some quite not so good, but on the other hand some happy and often humorous. It was not all doom and gloom, some people not able to see in the blackout then being shouted at by the wardens to put that light out. Dashing to the shops when word got out that something was in off ration. Anyone remember egg less weeks? Although one egg less week my 2yr old nephew found some eggs in the back of a shop were the staff used to make a fuss of him, but I am afraid that day the manager was not pleased.

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