大象传媒

We lived in 5 Mill Lane which as its named suggests led down to the Old Mill (See Story They Bombed the Old Mill Researcher (A241911)
The house had at one time been the stables and carriage house for the Norton Manor that stood on Norton Green, since demolished in 1935 and a small housing estate starting to be built. Three bedroom semi 拢450 Four bedroom semi with garage 拢550 now worth 拢90,000.
Our house had three bedrooms a sitting room living room and kitchen, no bathroom but a toilet down the garden at the end of the stables now a garage for Dad's truck and the car. Bath night was the tin bath put in the kitchen filled with hot water from the boiler in the kitchen especialy lit, filled with clean water and boiled for the occasion. Then we all bathed kids first Mum Dad then the dogs, Dad then bailed it out before hanging it back on the wall. Twice a week we went through that though some only did it once a week, Mum was a stickler for cleanliness.
The garden was completely walled in and there were brick pig sty's hen houses rabbit hutches in the loft over the pig sty's, a large greenhouse with light and heating and the best of all for me a loft over the stables full of stuff stored for people and things dad had collected while furniture removing, he was often paid in kind rather than cash much to Mum's annoyance. I got my first piano that way and discovered my father could play the piano for the first time, Mother too by the look on her face when he sat down and played beautifully I might say.
It was spring and I woke every morning to the smell of home cured bacon being cooked, went down stairs to the kitchen where mother oversaw me getting washed in the big stone sink. The living room had a huge iron fire place with an oven, water boiler, warming oven and hobs that swung over the fire. I would get a jug of hot water from the boiler and then start a battle with Mum over whether my neck was clean or not, to her a quick swipe over with a damp flannel was not enough and the smell of Carbolic soap was more than enough for me. Teeth cleaning was another battle ground as the toothpaste tasted awful not the flavoured stuff we have today. Mum won that fight as I still have my own teeth at 73, I guess she was right about it all.
Clothes on for school, back into the living room and take my bowl to the big iron pot on the hob and cut myself a slice of porridge. The oatmeal had been put on the fire the night before when the fire was damped down then simmered all night. Mixing it all up with sugar or treacle then fresh milk, that was the first course followed almost every morning by bacon and egg with fried bread or toast plus mushrooms or if we had killed a pig liver kidney sweetbreads or heart. Mother sent us all out with a full belly as it was a good start to the day. (I wonder what todays fadists would say about that)
Coat on and off to the Norton Board School with our gas masks hanging from our shoulders, we were suddenly reminded there was a war on and had been for nearly 8 months.
It all seemed so routine apart from the German submarines sinking the aircraft carrier Courageous then another sneaking into Scapa Flow and sinking the Royal Oak, which we thought very unsportsman like. Our brave lads had also cornered the German Battleship Graf Spee off Montevideo South America and she had been scuttled rather than come back out and fight. We had no feelings for the Germans Killed and injured it was war and they had started it. Eleven year old kids can be quite bloodthirsty and I remember discussing every action with all our gang, we all had our own ideas on what should be happeneing to the Germans and none of it would be good for them. real Hatred was to come later.
So school as normal apart from shelter or gas mask drill, walk home up the village for lunch then back down. Home again to our games and the evening meal always a cooked meal with pudding, out again to play, to us kids the house was to eat and sleep in, everything else was outside no matter what the weather.
We played our seasonal games, Football Rugby then Cricket. We roller skated, cycled, walked out over the fields to the beck making rafts and getting wet. There was ice skating on the flooded fields called the bottoms and sledging in the Show field behind our house. It was a healthy active life and thoughts of war vanished as we became cowboys and indians down the mill lane. It was all so carefree and we never gave a thought to what might happen.
Early in April 1940 we were suddenly galvanised at the news Germany had invaded Denmark and Norway, the news said we were sending the Navy and an Army expeditionary force to help the brave Norwegian People, the war was suddenly on again as we got our maps out and moved the little coloured flags on pins to show who was where and what the front line was doing. Our boys war cabinet knew exactly how to displace the Germans but no one listened to us hence the debacle that came of the whole venture.
From a carefree pretty normal life to the real war so suddenly led to changes in the adults, we noticed they were very worried and frowned a lot. Mum was agitated and I heard her telling Dad that it would not be long before they were bombing us, how right she was. 1940 was our first real war year in the way it effected us kids and things were never the same again.
Frank Mee.

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