- Contributed byÌý
- culture_durham
- People in story:Ìý
- Mrs Jean E. Middlemass
- Location of story:Ìý
- Durham / Ramsay, Isle of Man
- Background to story:Ìý
- Civilian
- Article ID:Ìý
- A4010130
- Contributed on:Ìý
- 05 May 2005
VE Day
I was at college training to be a teacher. At this time there was no television or radio available. On the afternoon I had been in town shopping and I walked back up Gilesgate. Everywhere seemed to be deserted.
As I got to St Hilds College I could hear a distant sort of noise. I walked up the drive and could see, off to my right, a large bonfire with the whole college around it. I went over and asked 'What's this in aid of?' Someone said, 'Hitler's given in, the war's over!'
The housekeeper had gone to the cellars and brought out large boxes of chocolate. Since there were no sweets during the war (they couldn't get coco over the Atlantic) we had not seen chocolate in ages. The chocolate was covered in a white powder, but we ate it all and none of us died!
VJ Day
My family and I were staying at my aunt's house on the Isle of Man. It was an isolated farm house, used as a B'n'B. The house was a quarter of a mile from the nearest bus stop and the bus only ran once a week. We called it 'Joe's bus' after the man who drove it.
My cousin and I decided to go to Ramsay on Joe's bus to go to a dance there after 6pm. We got the bus at 9am. As we got into Ramsay we saw that every pub was open, there were people drinking outside and banners over the street. I asked my cousin, 'What's happened?'
My cousin decided to pretend she wanted cigarettes and ask in the pub what was going on. (We were only 17/18 years old and then you were not allowed into the pubs until you were 21.) She came out and said, 'The war's over, the Japanese have given in!' We joined in the celebrations!
My family back at the house had a radio with an accumulator — no gas, we had to use candles. Someone came from a farm a half mile away and said, 'Isn't it great, the Japanese have given in'. So my family all found out around about the same time — about 12 hours after everyone else!
Disclaimer: This is A. Gardner submitting this story for Mrs Jean E. Middlemass
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