大象传媒

My wife and child lived in St. Stephens Road Sneinton and I worked on armoured vehicles including Churchills etc., these being huge tanks with tremendous gun power. The armour was at least 2 inches thick, but the enemy (Germany)used to target the sprockets which propelled the vehicle. We had a few scary moments when Nottingham and the surrounding areas were bombed and incendiaries were also used causing huge fires in addition to the damage, with buildings being very often just a pile of rubbish. In the streets brick air raid shelters were there to take shelter in. This was always at night and if you had children was very upsetting.
There was also food and clothing rationing books with tokens provided so you were restricted. Coal bricks were made by mixing coal dust and water to supplement your rations. My wife and I used to collect wood from the River Trent (which was nearby) - it used to drift into the side of the river.
Although times were hard, people were generally friendly and the better off often helping those in need and not able to get about very well. Generally, for the first few years of the war there was no need to lock doors, althoughon occasion robberies took place. Laws were very strict in those days and the penalties were very harsh. Prisons were very severe in the treatment of the inmates, with not so many privileges as today. Parole was very rare and the full sentence had to be served.

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