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Wear Street At War

On 3 September 1939, my Gran and I went into our neighbour鈥檚 house to listen to Mr Chamberlain鈥檚 famous broadcast at 11am. We did not have a wireless and Gran thought it vital to hear the message. Afterwards the three adults looked solemn and they sighed. When we came out of the house everything was just the same. The sun was still shining. In the mind of a six-year-old nothing had changed.

For me, the first evidence of change came with the arrival of evacuees from Gateshead. We applied to take one. I expected a girl of similar age but we were allocated a girl of thirteen. Betty did not stay long. She was transferred into the care of another lady, who bought her a complete set of new clothes from Doggarts in Bishop Auckland. She did not stay there long either. She left for home, wearing all her new clothes.

My next encounter with an evacuee was with Florence, who was billeted with my great- aunts in Roddymoor. I looked forward to spending a weekend there, with the anticipated pleasure of having someone to play with. When I awoke next morning I felt very warm indeed. Florence had wet the bed. When I next visited Roddymoor, Florence had returned home.

The influx of evacuees and their teachers had its compensations. I attended an all-age school, where children from 5-15 years were divided into three classes. In the new regime all the pupils were integrated and I had the pleasure of being in Miss Heneghan鈥檚 class. She came from Gateshead with the evacuees. We seemed to have very interesting lessons. I really loved going to school.

Just before Christmas 1939 we got our first wireless. My Uncles bought it for my Gran, before they went into the RAF. I thought that the wireless was wonderful. It was an HMV battery operated set, in a lovely polished wood case. The dial indicated stations from all over the world, Paris, Rome, Athlone, to mention but a few and all these at the touch of a button. In reality there was only the Home Service and the Light Programme available. Batteries were in short supply and the accumulator needed frequent charging. Nevertheless, when everything was in working order, it was a wonderful source of entertainment. I enjoyed Children鈥檚 Hour at 5pm each weekday. Tommy Handley鈥檚 ITMA, with its funny characters and their catchphrases, made every one laugh.
One of the first signs of war was the opening of Brancepeth Army Camp. The young recruits marched from there up to Willington Parish Hall and back to camp .As children, we used to run into High Street to watch them march past. I remember they once gave a party for the local children in the Parish Hall. I went along with my friends. We all expected something special. It was chaotic. We were given a sticky bun to eat and that was all. Afterwards, the entertainment consisted of running around the hall unsupervised. There wasn鈥檛 any evidence of organisation that afternoon.

I always looked forward to my uncles coming home on leave. I couldn鈥檛 wait to clean the brass buttons on their uniforms and they were eager to teach me how to accomplish the task. They always brought me part of their sweet ration, which I enjoyed. On the downside, I always cried when I saw them off at the end of their leaves

The war also brought sorrow into our street. Our neighbour鈥檚 brother was killed in the Western Desert in 1943. Sam was only 20 years old. Another neighbour lost her only son in a RAF raid over Germany in 1944. Jack was only 24 years old. They were both really pleasant young men. Sometimes Jack鈥檚 mother was so overcome by grief, she used to go into church and sit there in the stillness to find solace.

Food played an important part in our lives throughout the war. Everything was in short supply. Some people bought on the Black Market, but we lived on our rations. I remember some of the wartime additions to our diet. Dried egg was one of the items I liked. This came from the USA. It was a yellow powder, which had to be mixed with water, and then fried. I liked it better than ordinary eggs, but the adults in my home did not agree with me. Another item was 鈥淗ousehold Milk鈥�, which again was a powder that had to be mixed with water. It was skimmed milk, but unlike ordinary milk, it never went sour, as fresh milk was wont to do in warm weather. Best of all, I remember having some tinned sausage meat, which came from the USA. I can still taste it: it was scrumptious. Oranges were only for the under fives and bananas didn鈥檛 re-appear until after the war.

V.E. Day was very exciting. We heard the announcement on the wireless from Mr. Churchill. Children were given two days holiday and this was greatly appreciated, as I was now attending Grammar School in Darlington. The journey to school was long and the buses were always packed beyond capacity. On the day after VE Day, there was a party in an empty house in the next colliery street. The children attended in relays. I remember that our party food consisted of paste sandwiches and Scribona slab cake. The party was rather a damp squib. The blackout was abolished and the armed forces were gradually demobilised. My Uncle Bill had been married in 1940, so he returned to his wife in Leeds. Uncle Frank came home with a brand new 鈥渄emob suit鈥�, new shoes, shirt, mackintosh and a trilby hat. He soon resumed his life in 鈥淐ivvy Street鈥�.
Now 鈥渘ormal鈥� life returned very slowly. Rationing eased, but finally ended in 1954. By this time, I had qualified as a teacher. War and the period of austerity had lasted a long time indeed.

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