大象传媒

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The American Club was set up on Northampton鈥檚 Market Square during the Second World War. My father ran that club. This was where all the Yanks pulled in at night on the big lorries, they went into this club where it was all just coffee and doughnuts. They would bring their girlfriends with them, they used to have a bit of a good dance and a cuddle and whatever, and sit and talk for a while. At the end of the evening they went back in the lorries to where they were based and I would walk home at night. They were lovely young men the Americans were, they treated everybody the same.

I was from a big family, I had ten brothers and two sisters. I was only a young woman at the time and I had to help Mum to look after children because there was no fruit or anything like that. The Yanks used to bring us sweets and cakes and things for Mum to make, because in those days you could only get what was available on the points (coupons), from this she made lovely dinners, my brothers would say 鈥済ot any gum chum?鈥� . They also used to bring bananas & stockings for Mum, these were a real luxury at that time. They would sometimes come home and have a meal with us. At Christmas time we got taken to Barrack Road where they used to live and they gave all these children a party with lots of stuff to eat, and they gave each child a toy.

I used to go into the Club to do some cleaning, it was always spot on in there.

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