大象传媒

I joined the ATS in 1941 at the age of 18. The army in those days was totally different to what it is now. The uniform looked similar, but we had brass buttons not plastic ones which we had to polish, and we shoes which we also had to polish, so spit and polish meant real hard work. Three months square bashing was the same then as now when you first went in.
I worked on Radiolocation on a heavy ack ack battery (battery 444). After learning this we fed the information to the guns. When the raids we on we went to our posts and stayed there until the air raid was finished. We also did guard duties. I was stationed in Edinburgh, York, Kent, Bude, London and Weybourne.
I was with the same battery most of the time in the army. We became more like a family. It was not all doom and gloom. We faired much better than the civilians as regards food. We made our own amusement such as dances with our own band in the NAAFI. I do wish I had kept in touch with the friends I made then as they were special people during the war.
As for civvy street during that time, life was not easy. We had 1 pence of meat (old money) and one egg per ration book weekly. Sweets were rationed, queues were a mile long at most shops, especially when the bananas came in. Babies did not get a meat ration - they got extra bananas.
Dried, powdered egg was widely used for cakes and puddings. I had one black dress for when I came on leave. To make it look different everytime I went out I used to trim the neck with frilling made out of net curtains.
Even if you had money, you might not have enough clothing coupons. Stockings were very scarce, so we used to paint our legs with liquid make-up, then draw a line up the back for the seam, before we went out, hoping and praying it would not rain. I had two sisters who worked in factories during the day, and did fire service duty at night. My brother also worked in a factory and he did home guard duty at night.
We had a street shelter outside our house and my mother did her bit, as she had the keys to the shelter, and for six years, day or night, she got up to open the shelter when the air raids started, so that anybody caught in the street could take shelter.
Six years of blackout with no lights is a thing we gradually got used to. We had to have blackout curtains at the windows, if there was so much as a chink of light, you were heavily fined.
As far as travel is concerned, as far as I remember, train times were not too bad, except when there were big troop movements, but it was no excuse if you were back late in camp - you were still on a charge.
Local buses were much better than they are today. When the air raids were on and I was on leave my mum got us all up and we had to sit in the cupboard under the stairs for hours until it was over. It was supposed to be the safest place in the house. Houses that had gardens had Anderson shelters underground in their gardens! These often flooded when it rained. Everybody helped everyone else in those days, even to sharing Yorkshire puddings due to the shortage of eggs!

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