大象传媒

A child鈥檚 wartime memories

Born in July 1939 I was a war baby. My sister, born in July 1945, was thankfully a peace baby! Unbeknown to us all the horrors that took place during those six fateful years was ie the lives of millions made to be changed forever.

Being over young during the first half of the war I have to rely on the memories of other family members but from about 2陆 to 3 years old I remember various snippets but not necessarily in the correct chronological order.

Directly war was declared certain measures were set in motion such as issuing of those horrible gasmasks, my poor father queued for 7 hours for my special baby gasmask, so typical of him!

Disaster struck for my family when I was 8 months old, my dear father collapsed, rushed to hospital where it was discovered he had dreadful thyroid trouble ie an internal goiter, awfully dangerous in those days, from then on he was in St. Thomas鈥� Hospital for just over 2 years. Imagine the worry and stress for my poor mother, a sick husband and a baby all in the midst of war. Fortunately, her family ie my father鈥檚 parents lived very close so she did have plenty of emotional support.

When father finally came home no way was he declared fit for the forces but he was determined to do 鈥渉is bit鈥� and joined the A.R.P., he always joked that this stood for 鈥溾�檃nging round pubs鈥� this from practically a lifetime teetotaller!

My mother always related the following snippet with great pride:- One night during a raid everything was turning around us, father now in the A.R.P. ran with me in his arms followed by trusting others. Suddenly they were confronted by a 6ft wall. Miraculously father still in his weakened state got strength from somewhere to scale the wall, landing on the other side he summoned help and then collapsed and ended up in hospital again but all that concerned him was that everyone was saved.

Eventually my mother, myself and a young girl cousin were evacuated privately to Alton in Hampshire, very rural then, my mother loathed it as she was a true townie.

Unlike my cousin I was too young for school, on her first day she innocently but with pride informed the teacher her birthday was the same date as Hitler鈥檚 (I think April 20th).

I longed for the occasional week-end visit of my father and sobbed my heart out when he had to return to London.

I always watched for the milkman, a local farmer, he arrived on a bike with a small trailer containing churns, measuring was done by several sized ladles, I thought the copper colour was real gold.

Whenever I hear the word or see ladles I can picture him coming down the country lane.

I cannot remember exactly when but later on we moved from dear old Walworth in London to Surrey, thinking it safer, almost immediately a bomb fell one night blasting every window in the road. My bed, directly under a window, was covered in shards of glass, fortunately for me we were all in the air-raid shelter in the garden, otherwise I am sure I now would not be writing this.

I vividly remember sharing a bath as little tots with my cousin Peter, afterwards being tucked up in his parents鈥� Morrison shelter in their from room, we were fed spoonfuls of lovely toffee type malt followed by mugs of Ovaltine, delicious! Even after war he wouldn鈥檛 touch real eggs, his mother fibbed to him they were the powdered kind, she disguised them as this was all he would eat.

Memories of my first banana loom large, this was eaten in the front room of neighbours of my grandparents, Mr Cotes was a bus driver, I can see him in his uniform now. They all kidded me that if I held the peel tightly together it would fill up again!

I don鈥檛 think I actually started school until after the war ended but I know we spent a lot of time in the air-raid shelters in the playground. I loved being in there drinking milk in white and blue enamel mugs listening to the teacher reading stories. We say our childhood forms us and now I love a nice cup of tea and a good book.

I can see we little tots singing and doing the actions of 鈥淚ncy wincy spider鈥� and 2here we go gathering nuts in May鈥�, me in my green pixie hood and coat with a velvet collar.

After my first day at school we went to a local toyshop by Carshalton ponds and my parents treated me to a Russian Cossack doll which I treasured, we didn鈥檛 get many toys or treats then.

Finally war ended with great rejoicing, I remember my father saying 鈥淲onderful, now perhaps we will get pork chops with the kidney in and custard cream biscuits鈥�.

We had fancy dress street parties for VE Day and later for VJ Day. The former I dressed as a nurse with a bandaged doll and the latter I was a Chinese lady with flowers in my hair and a fan. Heaven knows where the outfits materialized from.

There were tables in the road with anything our mothers could rustle up for the children鈥檚 tea-party, a piano for singing and dancing. My father and his friend dressed up as babies in bonnets and gowns to be pushed around in baby pram races. Seems daft now but welcome fun then after the deprivation of fun and happiness then.

I was bursting with excitement, I was being taken to the cinema to see the Victory parade, I thought that the King, Queen and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and old Queen Mary would be in robes, crowns and jewels. I was heart broken as they were in ordinary every day clothes!

Gradually life slowly settled down and in 1949 we were blessed with out baby sister, making our little trio complete.

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