大象传媒

In September 1939 I was 7 years old living with my Mother and baby sister in a council house on an estate outside Stockport, Lancashire.
My father had not been at home on a reguler basis for a number of years so it was understandable that Mum often called me the "man of the house" and I was usually involved with whatever was happening on a daily basis. During the war I was evacuated for over two years but also experienced the Manchester blitz, however my most perturbing memory was the actual beginning of the war.
Mum was very much on edge that morning, telling me all different plans and what to do in a wide range of emergencies, many that I just did not understand. Towards the end of the morning (history records that it was a Sunday and the time was 11 o'clock ) my sister was put in her pram by the front door and the wireless was switched on. Mum sat at the table and I was also made to sit down at the table. I was told that someone important was going to say something very serious, I cannot remember whether I was given any indication of the nature of the serious talk. About halfway through Mr.Chamberlin's speech my Mother began to sniffle, then to quietly cry and at the end sobbed uncontrollably. I asked her many times why she was crying but she could not tell me, either from emotion or realisation that a 7 year old could not comprehend the horrors of war that she obviously remembered well from the First War. I was so frightened, for many reasons I suppose but certainly because for the first time in my live a normally well organised and extremely strong willed Mother had changed and I did not know why, nor could help her in any way. When Mum calmed down alittle she picked up my sister out of the pram and sitting on an easy chair held us tight and, as happened every night, sang to us. Within a few weeks we went to live with my Granny in the centre of Manchester.
Before Mum died I did remind her of that day, she did not wish to discuss it in detail but did confirm my vivid recollection. Writing this account 66 years latter I still feel most unsettled over an ocassion that was so strange to me and ,at the time , quite unreal.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.