大象传媒

This story was submitted to the people's war site by a pupil of Swavesey Village College on behalf of Olive Jermy and has been added to the site with her permission. Olive Jermy fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

My husband and I married in May 1939, the war broke out in September of that year. We first lived in two rooms at the top of Turkey street Enfield Wash. It was a lovely house and garden. We then moved to 37 Ruthven Avenue, Waltham Cross in early 1940. i had to pack up work. My father in law came to live with me for five years. Ruthven Avenue was formerly an orchard. There were now 8 fruit trees: six apples, and two lovely Victoria cultivated blackberry plums. There was a hedge right at the bottom of our long garden. The house was semi-detached with a big side entrance.
My husband was sleeping at home when a flying bomb fell opposite, in October 1944. I was away at Hitchin helping to look after some children (Heather, nearly four, and Hazel, nearly two). I came back to devastation.
We went away for Christmas and came home in January 1945. a rocket fell on the brush factory at the bottom of our garden, killing many. Because of emergency repairs to our house, we put the sideboard in the French windows to cut the draught. I was sitting sewing curtains at about 9am when it fell. The sideboard hit me in the back. Everything was broken, the cutlery and the top was ripped off. The chandeliers and ceilings fell down, and there was a hole in the wall. The front room was a playroom and Heather was in her dolls house.
I know I made tea for the men who were repairing the other houses, and they brought one man with them en route for the doctor who lived round the corner. We stayed for a month in what became 'Cheshunt Building society' but I don't remember going there.
One final thing I remember about the war was that there was no corn, just meal. And our chickens, rabbits and cat ate the same. My husband had to kill all the animals when we moved, but he brought the cat with him.

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