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I was 8 years old when the war started and 14 when it finished. I lived in Little Dunmow, Essex and there were often bombs from German planes landing near by where I lived. There was a ‘Battle of Britain’ where people would fight each other in the air. There were ‘Doodle Bugs’ — flying bombs that would suddenly explode. There was a ‘land mine’ that landed in front of our house. A land mine is when a bomb lands but doesn’t explode. It is then taken away and exploded. A plane once tried to land at an airfield but it crashed and all the pilots died.
All food, but vegetables were rationed. You got given a book of coupons, to make sure everyone got the same amount of food. You would give your tokens to your local shopkeeper and get given your food for the week. Clothes were also rationed and you collected then with tokens too. School uniforms were not around during the war.
Frank Blunderfield, my dad, and Ken Blunderfield, my oldest brother, were in the Army. My mum, Gladys Blunderfield was left to bring up my seven brothers and sisters and me. When my dad came home he was ill, but Ken was well.
The windows were always blacked out and always shut. Also, there was no electricity. For light, we used oil lamps. Once a bomb dropped near my school. We had to stay at home because the roof had collapsed and there were only two rooms in the school.
Evacuees came from London and had to live with families who had got room for them. Most of the evacuees were sent without their parents. It was a very sad time for them, but also happy, because they had never seen the countryside.

This stroy was submitted to the peoples war site by Leah Giffard of the CSV Action Desk on behalf of Iris Blunderfield and has been added to the site with her permission. the author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

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