大象传媒

Contributed by Monica Tingley

I was one year old when World War II began, so my main memories are of food and noise. My earliest memory is looking out from the cupboard under the stairs, hearing a very loud bang and watching the house front door shake. A bomb had detonated about 100 yards away (Prices Lane, Reigate - 29 Nov. 1940).

Also, I remember being shaken awake on several nights as doodlebugs rumbled over, followed by a silence when the engines stopped, then a loud explosion which rattled every window in the house.

To make up for food restrictions, I was given a daily dose of health supplements, some nice, some not so nice. Rosehip syrup and orange juice, for vitamin C, I loved. Cod liver oil, malt and Virol - ugh! I liked the dried egg powder better than real eggs!

During the latter part of the war, my grandparents received food parcels from Canadian relatives. I got the job of cutting open the "weird" little bags of tea and tipping the leaves out into the tea caddy.

My father served in the Auxilliary Fire Service. When he was not on duty, he went out collecting greenery from the hedgerows and Earlswood Common to feed to the 30 - 40 rabbits he kept to provide us with meat, and to trade for eggs and vegetables with the neighbours. Rabbit skins were cured at the local Tannery, Redhill and my mum made sure that I had fur mittens and fur trimmed clothes to keep me warm in winter.

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