大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Stella Graham from Coventry on behalf of Pearl and has been added to the site with her permission. Pearl fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Gas Masks

My first memory of the war was my gas mask. I was not even 5 years old, I鈥檇 just turned 4 in 1939. I didn鈥檛 want to wear the mask, as I caught the smell of it and it stunk of gas and rubber and was quite horrible. I thought I was going to be suffocated by it, as it鈥檚 not easy to breathe while wearing one as they are air tight and steam up inside.
I was chased around the garden, by my mother, father, brother and sister. They were all trying to catch me to make me wear it.

The Shelter

When I was at school there was a wooden air raid shelter built next to a field, it had a fence either side and was very tall. Outside at the front of the shelter stood a gas lamp. (Lamppost)
As children, we devised a game of jumping over the fence into the field, running to the back of the shelter where there was a grassy mound we could use to climb onto the roof easily, then we鈥檇 run the length of the roof and slide down the lamppost, reach the bottom, and start all over again!

Inside the shelter was very wet, as you entered; it sloped down and there were wooden benches either side. It was ankle deep with water, so you couldn鈥檛 walk through it, you would have to walk on the benches. I only went in there a few times, as I was frightened of it; I thought I was more likely to drown than be bombed. It was smelly, musty and damp.
It was one of two shelters that were supposed to serve the village for potentially up to 2-3000 people, although I admit I do not remember ever seeing many people in there.
I recall heading out of school once and the air raid siren rang out, but I turned and ran for home instead as I didn鈥檛 want to be stuck in the shelter. I was reprimanded for doing this.

German Pilot

My mother saw a plane come down, some distance away by the hospital. A German pilot bailed out of the plane and was injured. He ended up at Coventry and Warwickshire hospital.
My mum was an auxillary nurse and recalls that he was quite arrogant and was antagonising everyone, saying what would happen and what Hitler was going to do to everyone. He would often threaten, 鈥淵ou just wait until Hitler gets here鈥︹��
Many nurses refused to nurse him and he ended up in solitary confinement, for his own safety as much as anyone else鈥檚.

American Convoy

Walking along the main road from Leicester to Coventry, through the village, I noticed a convoy of American troops. Now I knew that children had been given chewing gum by US soldiers, so I thought I鈥檇 seize the opportunity, this was my moment to show off to the other kids. I finally plucked up her courage and shouted!
鈥淗ave you got any gum, chum?鈥�
They all laughed at me, smiled and waved, and carried on past. 鈥淗ave you got any gum, chum?鈥� is what all the children would say to American soldiers.
They didn鈥檛 give me any gum, my big chance to boast was gone.

Hertford Street

My mother was shopping in Coventry, and a German plane was swooping low and firing at people near Hertford Street I believe they call this strafing.
People were diving into shop doorways as the plane shot at them with a machine gun. I don鈥檛 know if anyone was injured.

Sharing A Bed, Listening To Planes

My sister is 11 years older than me, we shared a single bed. At night we would hear planes flying overhead. We would lie quietly, listen and would whisper to each other, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a German鈥� that鈥檚 a Gerry! There goes another Gerry鈥hat鈥檚 one of ours! Yes! Hooray!鈥�
By 5 years old I could tell the difference between a British plane and a German one. German planes were distinctive, they droned. British planes sounded a bit more lively, and made a different sound

Growing Your Own Vegetables

During the war, my father had an allotment, and he鈥檇 come home on a nice Spring evening with a bunch of radishes and some spring onions that he鈥檇 just picked, and we鈥檇 settle down to a snack of these with a piece of bread and butter.
It was lovely. As a snack, not as a main meal but it was something special, a bit of a treat and it tasted very nice.

Pneumonia

In 1947, we had a terrible winter, one of the worst I鈥檝e ever known. The roads were packed with ice and snow, and we made a slide in the ice from one road to another. We would play for hours in the snow and would obviously get cold and wet.
We had a monthly ration of coal, and had 2 fires in our house; 1 in the kitchen and one in lounge. That was the only form of heating we had, there was no heating upstairs, as we had no sockets for electricity in the house, therefore we didn鈥檛 have heaters.

Getting wet and cold is probably what gave me pneumonia. I had it for about 6 weeks before I saw a doctor, my mother wanted to call one but I would always refuse.
Eventually I saw a doctor, and was in bed for a fortnight during which time we were not sure if I would survive.
The coal ration was 5 bags of coal a month, the bags being larger than a sack of potatoes.
We didn鈥檛 use the lounge unless it was Christmas or for very special occasions. We lived in the kitchen.
I spent my time in the front bedroom where there was no heat, it was freezing. It was so cold that there was ice on the inside of the windows. My mum wrote to our local MP for help as I was so ill, and we didn鈥檛 receive any aid, we were instructed to pursue this matter at lower levels.
We couldn鈥檛 get any extra coal, but my mother鈥檚 manager from work sent an electrician to us, to install a plug socket in my bedroom, and I got a one-bar electric heater.
I used to wonder if I would have survived without it.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.