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I was born in Highfield Avenue in Leeds 12. I attended Upper Wortley School from 1943 —1953 - my one and only school.

I was the youngest of three boys and my name is Colin Ramsden. My elder brother Barry was 19 months older than me and my eldest brother Alan is 5 years older than I am. I was born in March 1938 so the early years of the war are rather vague. In 1943 I started school and we all had to carry our gasmasks in a little cardboard box with a string to go over our shoulder.

During the second World War I remember as a child my siren suit. I am not sure what age I would have been, maybe no more than four. It was rather soft and furry could have been some kind of fleece, being colour blind I’m not sure what colour it would have been. The main time I would have used it would be when an air raid took place and we would all (my mother, father and my two elder brothers) go into the air raid shelter at the bottom of our garden. Its construction was of corrugated iron which was dug into the ground and covered with earth. Inside there were wooden beds with steel bands to support the cushions. We only used it as a seat as it was not big enough for sleeping the family. The floor was concrete and was inclined to fill with water during bad weather.

I can remember food rationing which went on well after the war, because things were still in short supply. Butter, cheese, bacon, sweets even eggs were rationed so we would all have to have our own ration books. These were precious little books about 6 x 4 inch, and beige in colour ( so I’m told ) and we couldn’t exist without them. We also needed coupons for clothing, but we normally only got new clothes once a year at Whitsuntide. I also remember my father having his own fruit and vegetable patch to help supplement our food intake as we still had healthy appetites.

One or two bombs were dropped within a mile or so of our home but luckily not too close to do any damage to our house. I think they were trying to hit Copley Hill railway sheds or local engineering works e.g. Fairburn and Lawson’s, Greenwood and Batley’s or maybe Kirkstall Forge which were all within a five mile radius of our house. My brother Alan found a piece of shrapnel in our garden, but fortunately it had cooled down. It was a piece of steel about 3 inch x 1 inch and rather jagged. My father took Alan to Leeds to see a Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109 in City Square. Barry and I were considered too young to go.

My final thoughts are from a street party we had for Victory in Europe which was held in a neighbour’s garden ( The Woolers ) and was mainly for the children. There were lots of flags and trimmings but mainly cakes and jelly which was a real treat. Some of the children that were there included the following: Adrian Carr, Tony Wooler, Joan Slater and her sister lrene,Vince and Geoffrey Craven, Margaret and Joan Ingham, Shirley Reedman and finally Eileen Bellamy.

Let’s hope most are still around today???

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