大象传媒

This story is transcribed by me , Graham Shepherd , from notes following discussions with Joyce Fay , and is being added to the site with her permission . She understands the sites terms and conditions .

I was born in Oakengates , Shropshire in 1923 and attended the local schools at Ketley Bank and Wrockwardine Wood until I left in 1937 . My first job was in 1938 when I was 15 years old , acting as nurse maid for Mrs Gough , the wife of the local GP in Hall Green , Birmingham . It was an enjoyable job , which in addition to looking after the baby included sharing the housework with Mrs. Gough and I was treated very well .

When war broke out I remember running to the local newsagents to buy a paper to find our more details . We were then busy making black out curtains and clearly remember being issued with gas masks . Mrs Gough took me on holiday with her and allowed me to take a friend for company , so I took my cousin Margaret .

By now Birmingham was experiencing regular air raids , and we always hid in a cloakroom in the hall which had been reinforced . At night we could clearly see that Coventry was alight , and the raids became a daily ritual . Fortunately the Hall Green area escaped the worst of the damage , but there is one incident that will always remain with me .

After a heavy night of bombing , I put the baby out in the garden the next morning and as I turned around to go back into the house I saw an unexploded bomb in the garden . It was a terrible shock to me and I grabbed the baby and rushed back into the house . The people in the surgery were quickly evacuated , and the bomb disposal team eventually arrived . We did not hear anything more about the incident . With hindsight , had the bomb actually exploded we could all of been killed .

During the next nights raid the sound of guns firing seemed louder , and next morning we realised that a Hack - Hack gun had been positioned on the traffic island outside and was just being towed away .

The following day was my day off and I decided to go into Birmingham , but was unable to due to the roads being unpasable due to bomb damage . However on my next day off I did manage to get into town and was amazed to see the level of destruction due to bomb damage . All the major department stores including Marshall & Snelgrove , John Lewis and Selfridges were destroyed .

In November 1941 I decided to call it a day working as a Nurse Maid due to changing circumstances . Mrs Gough was expecting another child and I was gradually taking on most of the household duties as well as looking after the child . The fact that I learnt that I was receiving less pay than most of the other girls in the area and doing more work finally made up my mind for me .

I returned home , and was fortunate to get a job locally very quickly through the Labour Exchange . The Woolwich Arsenal had already been relocated outside London with war pending and was now based at Donnington , only a few miles from my home . I was sent for a test for a job in the stores with several other girls , which I didn鈥檛 find difficult . When I had finished the Army officer in charge came up to me thinking that I was finding it difficult , but when I told him that I had finished it , he told me that I would be working in Central Records and not in the stores .

It was hard work , starting at 08-00 am and finishing at 06-15 pm for six days a week .and when the D Day push was on it was a 7 day week , being allowed to finish at 04-30 on just one day . I used to take sandwiches for my lunch and my favourite filling was Shiphams meat paste ( beef ) with Marmite and occasionally cheese . Food was scarce , but my Mum always made sure that we all had regular meals . I had a sister and 3 brothers at the time .

There was real respect between the soldiers at the time and if you got friendly some of the soldiers would share their chocolate ration with you . I remember one instant when my cousin Margaret said she would love a bacon sandwich and next morning as she came through the gates the soldier was standing there and gave her a bag with one inside . We were fortunate in some respects , because with so many soldiers based there , we had visits from most of the top bands to entertain us . I continued to work here until 1946 .

Outside of work we all enjoyed going to dances which were regularly held at the Palis De Dance in Wellington and at the Sankeys factory in Hadley . There was no alcoholic drinks and we had to leave at 10-15 pm to ensure that we got our train home . The train was coming from Liverpool and there were times when it would be a couple of hours late . If we missed it , it meant a 3 mile walk home . I met Ron who was to be my future husband at the Pally in February 1942 . He was based at the local RAF Station at High Ercall where he was training Flight Engineers . He moved to Wick in Scotland 6 weeks after we met , but fortunately he was sent to RAF Cosford on a couple of occasions - only a few miles from home - so he was able to stay with us at the weekends , sleeping on the sofa in the living room .

When Ron got some leave he invited me to visit his parents who lived at Tisbury near Salisbury in Wiltshire , but my Father would not let me go since I had not been invited by Rons parents . Rons mother then sent a letter inviting me .

My Mum agreed that I could have a 21st birthday party , as long as I was not planning to get married in the near future since food was very scarce . Considering the circumstances I had a very enjoyable party .

However despite having the party Ron and I decided to get married because he was likely to be posted overseas , so we set the date and got married in August 1944 . I did not see Ron between my 21st party and the eve of our wedding . My mum had to cadge food from wherever she could . One of the local bus operators loaned us a car for the wedding which was driven by my Uncle Norman . Our honeymoon was quite memorable , one night was spent in Birmingham at my Aunts whose two young children drove us mad and then the following day we took the train from Birmingham to Salisbury but had all of Rons relatives who were returning from the wedding with us . I can laugh now .

Ron went to Burma in September 1944 , and I did not see him again until February 1947 . He was in 60th Squadron - 7060 SEAC .

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