大象传媒

This story has been written onto the 大象传媒 People's War site by CSV Storygatherer Alison Lear on behalf of Dorothy Celia Folley nee Marrison. The story has been added to the site with her permission. And Dorothy Folley fully understands the terms and conditions of the site.

I was seven when the war started. My father and brother were called up almost at the same time. You had to have someone living with you if you had a spare room. We had a lady potter called Dorothy.

My mother was very deaf so when the siren went a man used to come down with a big clothes prop and knock on the window to let her know. We used to fall asleep and we would still be there the next morning. I used to lay in bed at night and listen to the Lancaster bombers. You could count how many were missing when they came back.

My father was away for 3 years. He was a tank driver in the 8th Army Royal Armoured Corps. I remember him being demobbed, waiting for him to come back. He was still in his army uniform.

I used to hate gas mask practice in the playground at school. I can't stand the smell of rubber even now. You used to put a piece of paper at the bottom and breathe it up to check whether it was working.

We used to listen to Lord Haw Haw on the radio and he always said he was going to be crowned King of England at Lincoln Cathedral.

Mum bought black out material and dad put it on wooden frames. We used to make play tents out of these too and got into trouble.

I was married when I was eighteen and there was still rationing. I had a ration book. You saved all your parings from apples and potatoes for someone up the road who had a pig. Once a year we got some offal.

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