大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Katherine Wood of the 鈥楢ction Desk 鈥� Sheffield鈥� Team on behalf of Kathleen Beaumont nee McErlain, and Mary Knight nee McErlain, and has been added to the site with the author鈥檚 permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Kathleen was born in 1935 in Niddre, Edinburgh. She was four years old when war broke out. She remembers going to Elgin, where my father was stationed. My mother, Margaret and Kathleen stayed in a big old farmhouse.
She then remembers them all going to Scarborough (like a holiday), and staying with this lady who had two Scotch Terriers. This lady took Kathleen to the beach to collect coal. At this time, father was stationed there. It was around Christmas time. They had a party at the barracks where a soldier dressed up as Father Christmas. They all got presents; Kathleen鈥檚 was a 鈥榤int green鈥� knitted dress and Margaret鈥檚 was a blue one.
They returned to Edinburgh. Home was a tenement building. They lived in a single end. This was a room at the top of the building like a bedsit. She remembers the stairs to the end of the room were wooden; the rest of the tenement had stone stairs. This building in Braid Place was declared a risk, being in Edinburgh and being so tall. The tenants were asked to leave it.
My mother, Kathleen and Margaret went to live with Auntie Cassie in Craigmillar. She was my mother's sister. My granny Sharkey, my mum's mum, lived there also. I was born in 1941. We all lived there till the end of the war. I was about two years old before I saw my Dad, he had returned from Africa. Kathleen says I used to hide behind a chair and say, 鈥淢a, its that man again鈥�.
Granny Sharkey died in her sleep when I was a baby. My mother told me that I was asleep in the same bed at the time of her death. Kathleen remembers playing in the air-raid shelters in Craigmillar during the daytime, singing, dancing and reciting poetry, all entertaining each other.
During the summer, all the children and mothers played rounders in the streets. Kathleen was knocked out with the bat (she survived!!). Prior to this, Kathleen was in King鈥檚 Park in Edinburgh and had an accident near Arthur鈥檚 Seat. Arriving at hospital, Kathleen had to have her head stitched without anaesthetic (there wasn鈥檛 any!). In 1945 we all moved back to the 鈥楽ingle End鈥�. There were five of us, including my Dad. The building they had been asked to leave, due to being a potential target for the bombers, was still standing, without a window broken, with my Mothers鈥� furniture still in place.
After the war, we moved to Herriot Mount in Edinburgh. This was a very steep hill, at the top of which were the steps to King鈥檚 Park. The only recollection I have of the war was a street party. I couldn鈥檛 figure out how they kept the tables up on our hill. Kathleen says this party didn鈥檛 happen, so maybe I imagined it!

Pr-BR

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