大象传媒

I was just six months old when we moved from Warley to Stourport in 1938. My father came here to work at the power station.

In Stourport, German planes used to follow the river up and the power station was like their signpost, so they flew over our house, which was in Garland Road, by the Steatite. We could hear their engines going. My sisters and I used to hide under the table with an eiderdown over the top. Outside our house we saw dogfights with Spitfires in the air when I was about 6 years old.

Burlish Camp was a US Army camp. Back towards Brintons Arms was Pratt鈥檚 Farm where there used to be a wall. We kids used to sit on this wall and wait for the GIs, 鈥淗ave you got any gum, chum?鈥� They used to give us biscuits, sweets, and chocolate, as well as gum. So did the POWs who were let out, and not thought to be any harm; they could even drink in the same pubs as anyone else.

Every year all the children up to a certain age were collected from the schools and taken to the camp where there was big Nissen hut with a stage. There were musicians and comedians as entertainment for Christmas. Right at the end they gave us a bag of sweets, bananas and oranges. We had never seen these before and did not know how to eat them.

Also, by Steatite, at 鈥淭he Lane鈥�, the US had a baseball pitch. But there was a nearby council tip, and if the ball was hit into the tip, then we kids would fetch it. The GIs would give us sweets for fetching it. If they broke a bat they would sling it away and get a new one. We鈥檇 collect the bits and tape it up to use 鈥� I had one for years until my mother gave it away.

Lickhill Road was specially built for the Americans from concrete sections. When they came to build it a gang of us kids showed them where Burlish Camp was.

They had an outdoor swimming pool in the camp, which we were allowed to use occasionally.

I used to take Dad his dinner into work at the power station. His dinner was in a white basin wrapped in a cloth. I would take it on my bike to the gate, and press the bell and pass it in, then bike back. But if they let off steam at the power station you had to get away because the noise would make you deaf. My father used to ride to work, but the land there was prone to flooding. When it was flooded he would go wearing waders, pushing his bike.

My Gran and Grandad lived in Union Street in Smethwick. I used to go there for the weekend, by train to Rolfe Street Station. There were ack ack guns going and lines of streets that once had been there, just gone.

My Dad told me there was a big fight between white and black GIs. The MPs came and just piled a jeep up with them. They would just grab a man, break his arm and throw him in the jeep.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Joe Taylor for the CSV Action Desk at 大象传媒 Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Anthony Bingham and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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