- Contributed by听
- sparklingjosephine
- People in story:听
- Robin Campbell Burgess
- Location of story:听
- Harleston, Norfolk
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A1956323
- Contributed on:听
- 03 November 2003
This is a rather unusual story from the war!
In 1945 my father was ten years old. He lived in Harleston, Norfolk.
At the end of the war the town had a big celebration on the local recreation ground. The highlight of the evening was the auction of a BLACK BANANA!
He said no one had ever seen a banana before, and he thinks it must have come from a soldier at one of the many American air bases in the area.
My dad remembered someone holding it in the air and everyone ooohing in amazement at the over-ripe banana. There were hundreds of people at the event. A real spectacle!
The winning bid was £5. He doesn't remember who bought it but they must have had a lot of money. To give you some idea of just how much £5 were in those days: in 1951 Dad landed his first job, in which he earned £2 a week. This was 6 years later!
Today we are very lucky.
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