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I was evacuated from Liverpool, with my Mother and Brother in 1939 when the war broke out to live with my Grandparents in Caernarfon in North Wales; lucky for us that we did because our house was bombed and flattened. Father had to stay in Liverpool as he was a chemist and so many had to stay to keep the prescriptions and the drugs running. The only part of the war I remember is looking up and seeing two planes fighting in the sky. Mother threw us under the table but I peeped out and saw one coming down in flames.

Other than that we had quite an uneventful time in Caernarfon apart from the shortages — not having sweets and not having fruit. I remember not having an orange or a banana for about six years!

I also used to wonder why my Mother used to always wear red lipstick but it was obviously because there wasn’t any alternative in the shops because the factories had gone and been taken over.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Margaret Chamberlain and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Chamberlain fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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