´óÏó´«Ã½

We had a visit from a German who came to inspect our house. I was waiting for my mother to go out somewhere and I was dressed with a little beret. I think most children used to wear berets or caps in those days, going to school. And this beret had a little Mickey Mouse on, and I remember him saying to me when he’d been into the house, ‘Well, Mickey Mouse can stay here’. I don’t think it was anything to do with Mickey Mouse, it was the fact that our house at that time had no bathroom, we had an outside toilet, and we didn’t have the facilities. He was looking for suitable houses to occupy, for the troops. Next door was occupied, and they always seemed to have a problem with the gas hot water system, because I remember my parents being amused when they heard the thing blowing up. They [the Germans] didn’t know how to work it and there would be shouts from next door as somebody was taking a bath when the geyser blew up.
BRIAN LE CONTE

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