大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Pam Vincent of Age Concern Shropshire Telford & Wrekin on behalf of Thelma Hall and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

When war started I lived out in Newport, Shropshire. We didn鈥檛 see a lot of the war. The only time was when they bombed the field opposite our house. They were after the steel works out towards Wolverhampton.

I remember taking my little ones out in the pram along a long lane when an aeroplane came over low. I thought it was German but it turned out to be an American one.

My husband was in the Home Guard. He had to leave me at home sometimes at night if he was on duty. Life went on as normal on the farm. We had two farm labourers living in the house with us and two land girls as well.

We had an incendiary right across the farmyard. There was a huge, enormous hole in the field opposite, but it didn鈥檛 hurt anyone.

We had eggs, milk and cream from the farm and I used to barter it for sugar and tea. I also swapped bacon. We had two pigs, so had plenty of food and never really suffered.

I was an ARP warden. Before I married I worked in Lloyds Bank and so was in a reserved occupation. Some of them from the bank went into the war, but they had an awful job getting out of Lloyds.

We had to do a first aid course in order to become an ARP. I was the only woman and I came first. The men were resentful and nasty to me. I had only just left school though and so I think this sharpened my brain. It was quite a friendly set-up, being an ARP. We used to sit together in a little room and make oxo for our drinks.

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