大象传媒

I was 27 and living in the Holloway area of London when war broke out. I worked in the mica and miconite supplies factory in Caledonian Road, Islington.

Life was pretty hard, often you worked all day, spent a sleepless night in the air raid shelter, and then had to go straight back to work the next day. This happened for 7 nights in a row once, but there was no sympathy if you were tired, you were told that you were well off compared to those in the armed forces. It was difficult travelling to work and back - because of the blackout cars weren't allowed to show their headlights. People used to queue up at night to sleep in underground stations, because they felt safe, and formed their own communities down there. When you got off the train you had to be careful not to tread on people.

My sister became pregnant, and she and my mother were evacuated to the countryside, but I stayed in London with my father. My sister was lucky - pregnant women were allowed 1 banana per week! My sister's husband was in the RAF, and only saw his daughter once, before she was 5 years old.

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