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This story was submitted to the People's War site by Louise Treloar on behalf of Mrs Farmer and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Farmer fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

We didn’t have schooling in the war — we went to people’s houses instead. There were about four of us having lessons in someone’s front room. We didn’t think we’d learnt much during all that time!

I was evacuated during the war, to a poultry farm in Scorton, near Preston, but I came back because I was homesick. I was back for the Blitz. One of my brothers was in the Home Guard and the other was an ARP warden. I remember when Sheffield was bombed, and he told us of the devastation in the centre of Sheffield. The tram lines had been destroyed, as well as the shops all along The Moor. I lived on Harwood Street, and I remember the Arnold Laver wood yard going up in flames. It was as bright as day in our back yard. We had an air-raid shelter in our back garden, made out of metal. My mother had a hard time of it, as she had had an accident, and was in plaster from her ribs all down one leg. We had to carry her down in to the shelter — she struggled because it was so steep.

Food was rationed during the war, 2oz (ounces, 1 ounce = approx. 3 grams) butter, 2oz cheese, 2oz bacon etc. Sweets were rationed too — Gordon used to give me his sweet coupons. My youngest brother served as a Royal Marine on H.M.S. Renown and he once brought my mother two pairs of pure silk stockings, which was a real luxury!! He once brought home some bananas, and I just wondered what they were as I had never seen them before.

When the war was finally over, we all had huge street parties.

Pr-BR

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