大象传媒

In 1939 when the war broke out I was 8 years old and I lived with my Grandma and Grandpa in Barnigham Street, Darlington. It was a two bedroomed house and under the stairs was used as a storage area. When the war broke out all the junk was removed and a mattress put in on the floor. If the siren went at night, my cousin Audrey and I had to sleep under the stairs. For little ones this was exciting, especially as it meant we would get the next morning off school!
The windows of the houses had to be taped so that if bombs fell and the windows broke, the sharp edges wouldn't do any serious damage. We had to have black outs at the windows and no electric light could show through. If it did, the warden rapped on the door and shouted "Get that light out!"
When ever we went out, we had to carry a cardboard box tied with string containing our gas mask. In school we practised putting them on and taking them off but thankfully we didn't need them.
There were brick built air raid shelters in the school grounds. They were dark and cold and we practised getting into them as quickly as possible. We thought this was great as it took us away from lessons.
I remember the ration books and the small amounts of rations that we were allowed. We only had 2oz of butter per person, a quarter of a pound of margerine, half a pound of sugar, a small amount of bacon and when eggs in particular came in to the nearby shop everybody rushed around and probably by the time you reached the head of the queue all the eggs had gone.
My grandmother had a friend who had moved to Kent. Her name was Mrs Cook and when she lived in Darlington she had a little shop in her front room in Beaconsfield Street. During the war she came up to stay with us for a week each year and we went down to stay with her, in spite of all the bombing. I was in London the day that peace was declared. I was outside of St. Pauls Cathedral amongst the crowds of people celebrating. This particular day was a wonderful experience!

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