大象传媒

I was 13 years old when the 2nd World War began in Sept. 1939. I lived at a place called "Sirelands", a house on its own between Castle Carrock and Faugh here in Cumbria. I lived with my parents, 2 sisters and a brother. I was the eldest. We were not affected by the war itself but were issued with gas masks and had to carry them to school everyday and practice using them. People at that time often said the war would be over by Christmas but of course it was to go on for almost 6 long years before it finally ended. I cannot remember when food rationing began exactly but we were luckier than a lot of people where food was concerned. We had a large garden and grew our own fruit and vegetables. We also had hens and a pig so we had eggs and bacon. We had ducks, geese and chickens to eat as well.
We moved house in 1940 and went to live along the fellside at a place called Ainstable. I left school at 14 and went to work on farms, there was little else in the area. The farm I worked at was called "the Knott" near Ainstable. The name of the farmer was Mr Hewitson. He grew a lot of potatoes, selling seed potatoes to the Ministry of Agriculture. Mr Hewitson's daughter Phyllis was a Land Army Girl and worked at home, there was also a young man by the name of John Dewshap but he soon went off to the war.
When potato time came round again Mr Hewitson employed a gang of Italian prisoners who were stationed at Merelthougth Camp nr Calthwaite. When they came in the morning they were all eating a thick wedge of white bread with a thick spreading of margarine on top, this was to last all day, which was very little considering the hard work. They told me they got one loaf of bread per day which was divided between 5 men. Years later I discovered that was also the ration our POW's in Germany got for a day.
We didn't have any Land Army Girls at the Knott but there were many working in the district and living on farms as were POW's. Some of the Land Army Girls used to go round the farms catching rats, they also worked in the woods felling trees.
I was later signed off from work by my Doctor who said I should take up lighter work. I went to work for a Major Parkin and his wife at a place called Broomrigg near Ainstable. Mrs Parkin did welfare for the Land Army and POW's through the Red Cross in the area. Mrs Parkin was a Catholic and as most Italians were also she took them to the Catholic church in Warwick Road Carlisle. She also made Christmas parties for them. When they went home the German POW's came and she did the same for them. They were more reserved than the Italians, more like us as many local people used to say.
They, of course were mostly Protestants so instead of taking them to church she had them singing in German over the telephone to her friends "Silent Night, Holy Night". She also made Christmas parties for them too until they finally went home.
PS in 1949 I married a German ex POW who stayed on here as his home had been destroyed in the war. He was 21 years old when he left Germany. He lived most of his life here and died in March 1999, his name was Rudi Splinter. We have one daughter and 2 sons who keep in touch with their German cousins. They stay with each other for holidays. One cousin came with her 2 daughters this year to go to the Edingburgh Tattoo. Its nice for us older ones who are left to know they visit each other and that some good can come from a past that contained some of the darkest days in the last century.

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