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"This story was submitted to the People's War site by the Barnsley Archives and Local Studies Department on behalf of Betty Leigh and has been added to the site with his/her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

I lived in a terrace house in Darton at the beginning of the war (b. 1930). Dad put an Anderson Shelter in the back garden — more like a paddling pool — everything was mouldy! We took refuge in the pantry under the stairs. That was also damp and inhabited by slugs and black beetles. Lighting was a small paraffin lamp that stank! A torch was essential, but No. 8 batteries were as scarce as oranges. The fear on the nights of the Sheffield Blitz was tangible.

Going to school between Darton and Barnsley — buses scarce, unreliable and overcrowded. We often had to walk in the blackout at teatime, but nobody ever was afraid, because it was safer then for people than now.

We wasted nothing. Dad had an allotment and grew vegetables. We kept hens and the eggs were preserved in isinglass, which was horrible to feel. Runner beans were preserved in layers of salt. Plums, apples and rhubarb were made into jam. Sugar could be had instead of jam. My Mum made super meals using eggs, potatoes and onions.

Fuel

We were lucky because we had coal, a big fire with an oven. So we could keep warm. We cooked on the fire and used the oven to bake. This was good, because supplies of gas and electricity were limited. Lighting was dimmed — low wattage bulbs — sometimes the supply was cut off and we depended on candles or paraffin lamps (if we could get them!). Torches were invaluable. I mentioned earlier that No. 8 batteries were scarce. Of course there was no lighting anywhere outside. This I found really hard to bear because I have an intense fear of darkness. Radios were then called wirelesses and operated on large batteries, which lasted for a short while and then had to be re-charged at a local bike shop. So we heard only the news, the football results and Children’s Hour. We played ludo, snakes and ladders and card games — often by candlelight to while away the long dark evenings.

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