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This story has been added to the Peope's War website by CSV volunteer, Ann Toomey, on behalf of the author, Molly Radley, who fully understands the terms and conditions of the site.

In 1939 I was in what was known as domestic service as a parlour maid, a responsible occupation with a very nice family of parents and their two sons at High Barnet, Hertfordshire, living in their beautiful house and massive gardens. Parlourmaids nowadays are "Lady Butlers" to the wealthy. There was a cook, who once was the two sons nanny. There was also a kitchen maid and a housemaid, aided by casual help employed to scrub floors here and there in this very large house, known as "The Grove". Us younger girls enjoyed our days there, being allowed one half day per week and every alternate Sunday free from our household duties, but we had to be back home by 9 p.m.

On a Sunday, a first Sunday in September 1939, Hitler had declared war on Poland, so our then Prime Minister declared "War is upon us", because the|Germans had invaded Poland. The Nazis had to be stopped, regardless of the quantity of our boys who were of course someone's daddies or brothers or cousins. They either volunteered for the Air Force or Army or Navy.

The ladies left at home were asked to do all these man's jobs of work such as farm work trains and buses, hard work but life was amicable. Children were evacuated from towns to country areas to be safely away from prespective bombing areas such as railway lines which Hitler bombeds to "hold up" trade and industry, our contry's backbone to life for every citizen. This brought about food rationing and clothing coupons issued to the families left behind. The country suddenly was full of the Army and its tanks and lorries.

It brought about queuing here and queing there for the butchers, bakers and fish shops. I can remember buying mattress ticking, coupon free, for making dresses. Now and again one was offered for sale a parachute panel which I used for making underwear. Black market appeared, it cost money of course. I remember a costume from the black market, also sweets were rationed but they appeared via the same method.

Now to return after wandering around, so to speak. I met a very nice tall young man in Barnet. We courted a few years, the war reduced those times drastically, but we always saw soldiers around in their khaki uniforms. As I have said the second World War was thrust upon every single person that was around. Imagine if you can the agony of schools organising these evactions when the children had to walk in file or bus to various railway stations.

Every child carried a case of clothing and the government issued gas masks as it was always thought possible Hitler would gas us as he wanted to get rid of us English for the Germans to take over.

Winston Churchill, the then Prime Minister was definitely hard against that. His very strong words over the radios (very, very few first televisions were then broadcasting) were "Never have so few people owed so much to so few". That was repeated so many times to us via newspapers alongside with "Radio" or the then "Wireless" and few television news programmes which those days were TV. Alexandra Palace at Wood Green, London, and the wireless station was 2LO. On the day war broke out, this actually was used as a heading for a wireless programme.

The cook who was Nanny as I have said and I went out on our first dark night, no street lights, no uncovered windows, a very eerie prospect which we all had to accept called the "Blackout". The sky was full of seach lights looking up for German War planes which as time went by practically everyone got used to the engine sounds of German and British planes. British planes going out and over to bomb sites in Gertmany, they were also covered by the German search lights.

Air Raid shelters were ordered by the Government. We were all advised to go into the upon the sound of the air-raid sirens, giving us the warnings followed by the "All Clear" sirens. These were two different noises, the latter one a great relief when you were a whole being, not like many Naval establishments and private homes where so many civilians, children and adults were maimed or killed, apart from the alarm of these atrocities to humans all trying so hard to live normal lives.

Well life went on at The Grove, but by about eighteen months I felt I ought to make a war effort.

My family, parents, one sister and two brothers, aged approx. 22 yrs, 19yrs and 11 yrs had moved from our Fruit Farm, Much Hadham, Herts to Hoddesdon, Herts. A measly terraced house ater a large farm house, alongside of unfamiliar neighbours. That was in 1938.

My eldest brother had joined the Royal Engineers and met different soldiers, gave one my name and home address, he wrote to me and I wrote to him. We met and married in 1942. My sister had married an Air Force man in 1939.

For my wedding I had to afford something new to wear. I chose a brownish costume. These days that item of clothing is called a suit. The wedding cake those days was bought at the local Co-operative Stores, costing eight pounds, one tier could be covered with white paper as sugar was rationed or 1 could have chocolate iced cake, which I decided on. My father gave me away, the family attended the occasion at St. Paul's Church.

A yearlater I was taught to ring the Church bells. The bells had to be muffled, the reason for that was the Government told everyone by the offered services of newspapers, wireless and television that all Church bells will be rung for joy upon winning the war all over the country. The wedding reception was held at home, home being 8 Century Road, Hoddesdon, Herts. We honeymooned at the "Dimsdale Hotel" Hertford for a long weekend. My new husband had to return to barracks at Dagenham, Essex - the year was 1942.

I had left my job in Barnet and volunteered to go into the Wrens, as a telephonist, but that branch was fully filled, so my sister and I, both married, still living at our parents, went to Hoddesdon Job Centre for War work locally. We were asked to attend a large interview of many young women at the Powder Mills" at Waltham Cross, a munitions factory. We were all engaged for this tough hard work at the rate of sixty three hours per week. Our train journey was from Rye House Station, Hoddesdon, to Waltham Cross, then we had to catch a bus to the Powder Mills, return journey reversed of course.

We were on shift work, three shifts were working on the making of gun powder tweny four hours per day.

The various meyhods for making gun cotton was spread over a ot of ground, many of us going in through the main gates and out had to be searched for contraband, as workers had to wear no metal or buttons. The uniform was a white serge suit with tape fastening and likewise we had to change when it was time to go home

At first when we went on the station platforms we raided the Nestle Milk Chocolate Penny machines to find some chocolate, that was a bonus. They were soon made extinct.

At this time I used to visit my husband at the various barracks he was sent to, many in Yorkshire, travelling by train, such as Pontefract, Wakefield, Doncaster, York and Harrogaate. Our Powder Mill wages were approx. 拢1.50. 拢3 and 拢5 weekly shift work. We had a fairly long walk to the station, the return fare, consisting of two intermediate stops was seven and halfpence, that is our old money value, todays value against that approx. nineteen pence.

During this time my sister and I were able to rent a furnished house at Rye Paark, but eventually I was taken Ill. I somehow managed to walk to my mothere were upon she called in the doctor. I was diagnosed as having meningitis. I was unconscious for a week and treated with a new drug called Penicillin in tablet form, these had to be crushed first.

My mother said I would not be returning to the Powder Mills to work, it was easy to find work which I did so. The first job was for a firm called "Gilsons" making bomb caps on a production line. I then found another job near home on an assembly line. I only stayed there from 8a.m. to 1p.m. on my first day and only day there.

Married life carried on, Bonney coming to see me when he could get away from Barracks. All young married couples had to make the most of time that was available to them. One thing I must write about is when Bonney came home once on a weeks leave, I thought it would be nice to go to London by train for the day, taking in a theatre as a treat. Whilst we were getting ready to go out my mother said "where are you going " I said to London - my mother said "London" its my bedroom cleaning day. Oh dear, the air was blue we just dare not go off to London to enjoy ourselves, it was highly disapproved. Well the long awaited D Day arrived unknown as such at the commencement of that day.

I went to work by bicycle to Gilsons seeing aeroplanes and gliders heading out eastwards from where was unknown, but by evening everyone was keyed up with the start of the promised invasion in Europe from Britain.

We all knew of battle practices being made on various barracks and upon countryside whilst a big invasion of American and Canadian joining in the War. They came in hoards from their respective countries, of course most local girls were thrilled. They had plenty of cigarettes and sweets and nylon stockings and much more money than ever our own soldiers were being paid by our then Government. Rationing was in full force, so really it paid to know a "Yank". Many English girls married the Yanks and went off to live in America.

Some returned to England, the reason being the new American promised his girl mansions out in the country, but quickly disappointed these new brides by their prospective man as such being an old tin shack in the backwoods. I did know of one girl who found it all a very satisfacgfory prospect.

The war was ongoing, we were told by the aforesaid communicataions of our own soldiers being killed in their hundreds on the French coast and hundreds of wounded soldiers, sailors and airmen, all fighting on the Front Line.

My turn for a dramatic period was about to happen, namely whilst working at Gilsons, going home one evening my mother passed me a card to read written by the Red Cross saying my husbqnd was injured in Morriston Hospital, Swansea. He had been flown back from Caen, France, wounded - my sister said I will come with you. We will go on the first train in the morning from Broxbourne at 5.15am via Paddington to Swansea arriving at about 3.30p.m. We had to find a bus to take us to the hospital, but we only found Welsh people telling us to get a bus to what sounded like Egyptian, it sounded like bus to "Coom Rydy Cairo" - we did eventually find the right bus.

It was literally up a mountain, reaching there reporting our arrival we were taken to Bonnie's bedside. The doctor said he had shrapnel in the hip, too high to amputate. My sister and I were given a Red Cross Welfare Ladies home address. She put us up as its called, bed and breakfast, it is known as today. My own mum and dad came down to the hospital, Eva had returned. We all suddenly saw a change in Bonnie's condition for the worse, he died that particular day. I was fortunate Dad was there. He took over for me as we wanted him buried at Hoddesdon Cemetery. Crematorium was an almost unknown word then. This was August the 1st 1944. The funeral took place on August 8th.

Time went along, I got in touch with an old boyfriend's sister at New Barnet, this being later that month. She and her two children hd evacuated themselves up to North Berwick In Scotland, because the vicious war was going on, Elsie asked me up there to stay. I went by train from Kings Cross to a halt called Drom. I was scared of the German bombs which were droped haphazardly. I reallt enjoyed that stay which was for two weeks. I came home feeling better.

After Christmas that year Eva and I decided we would go to the Salisbury Hotel in Hertford for a drink (gin and orange). There I met Arthur Lewis, we paired up and got friendly and married in 1947. We found rooms in a house in St. Margarets Road, Hoddesdon

By this time we were being bombed by doodle bugs, similar to a bomb with wings. They had no pilot and were sent off from the French Coast. Their real name was V1, V11, they were to follow along with land mines dropped by aeroplanes anywhere. They were silent in flight, again civilians were being attacked. Of course 1945 and 1946 men and women were returning as wounded from the continent. D-Day took us into France, Bonney was over nr. Caen, Bayeaux when he was hit by a grenade.

There was a time when the Germans pushed all of the British troopd back on to the French beaches. Our British boats made up teams to fetch our men back home, fishing boats large and small, any boat that could carry the men off the beaches as the Germans were overhead bombing, men having to walk into the sea to reach any boats which would pick them up, land them back to the British beaches and the boats went bacj and forth till they had got all our men on British soil. I do not remember the dates of these happenings.

I had a cousin, Raymond Howard, he was in the Green Howards, he died fighting in Belgium,. His home was at Hersham in Surrey, he was only 19 years old. He had another brother, Eric, he was in the Air Force in a part of "MONTY's" war in Egypt. He was a tail gunner in an aeroplane and the germans bombed that plane standing on the ground. He was killed and buried out in Egypt. My biggest brother served in the Army at Egypt, he went out and found Eric's grave and photographed it.

The actual war from now I do not fully remember the dates but the cities which were ravaged all over this beautiful country are numerous.

Men were demobbed, given a suit to wear, jobs gradually taken over by men again. Joy was enormous. Houses were starting to be built. So many were needed for homeless couples, increased by the war. Munitiions factories closed down, all jobs affiliated to the war effort closed down with relief for the people. These times brought sorrow for so many lost men. People had been told throughout that "Name unknown" which leaves so many relatives so terribly sad.

My Aunt Daisy, Eric and Ray's mother told me she thought how lucky I had been by having Bonnie@s funeral at home. He did have some sisters and brothers at home with Dad at Walsall, Birmingham...His mother had died so the family were left to cope. He and his father were not the best of pals, but I did ask him down to the funeral. I am going to leave this episode now.

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