大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/大象传媒 Radio Nottingham on behalf of Margery Lloyd, with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was 8 years old when World War II started, my father had been in World War I so was too old to be in the forces, so he joined the ARP. I was evacuated to Kimberly, Notts. It was'nt many miles from Nottingham so my parents could visit at the weekends. I had a friend with me from next door she was 11 years old. I don't know how we were chosen to go as I had an older brother and younger sister and they didn't go. We both lived with a butcher and his wife and daughter behind and over the shop. Their names were Mr and Mrs Dupe and Hazel. We were there for 18months - 2 years. Mrs Dupe said she couldn't cope with us and all the other work so we were back in Nottingham for the bombing in 1941. At the butchers we had to help with cleaning the pig sty's which were at the back of the shop and also helped to make sausages, we enjoyed our stay there!

One day back at home I had to look after my younger sister at lunch time as my mum worked at Boots Factory, off Queen's Drive. Something to do with the war, we heard a lot of commotion outside, just about the time we were due to go back to school. I don't think the sirens had gone, we opened the front door and my sister ran out across the road. I was screaming for her to come back as a plane swooped down along the street machine gunning. It was so low I could see the pilot. Across the the road from where we lived was a greengrocer's shop owned by a Mr and Mrs Reast. As the plane came along they were standing on the doorstep. They grabbed my sister and pulled her inside the front door, after the plane had gone we looked at the walls along the house and shop, they had bullet holes all along them. So I reckon my sister was very lucky, did she get into trouble when my mum came home at tea-time!

I also remember a factory in Crocus Street being bombed, after we spent all night in the air raid shelter on Florence Street. Our windows were blown out, that was all. The factory was called Godbers and they made cotton at least there were cotton reels everywhere. When I went looking round the bomed areas with my brother the next morning we decided to take a few reels of different coloured cottons home for my mum but the smell of burning on them was so strong she was never able to use them!

I had left school at 14years old and started work in a dressmaking factory when VE Day arrived, everyone was so happy the war was over, we had a days holiday. We sand and danced in the Old Market Square and had parties in the street with whatever food we could manage as of course we were still rationed.

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