大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Deena Campbell from WM CSV Actiondesk on behalf of Betty Thornicroft and has been added to the site with her permission Betty Thornicroft fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

I was seven when War broke out and the Withal RAF Camp was only a couple of miles away. My father worked there in the boiler houses. He got to know all the guards there. They would often ask if there was anywhere they could bring their wives. They used to come and stay with us at Barkers Lane. They became good friends of ours.

We got dive bombed once when I was eight or nine coming home from school. They sent a plane from RAF to fetch that plane down! That was something to look at. I can鈥檛 describe how I felt about it because I was too young. At night time they brought the guns and you could read by the light of the guns.

We used to have the evacuees come and stay with us as we were in the countryside.

I remember once queuing for bananas and had never seen them before but after I tasted them I thought what is the fuss about! Also my father鈥檚 woodbine cigarettes were hard to get during the War.

I didn鈥檛 meet my husband till 1948.

At school we were taught far better than the kids nowadays. We had to learn everything in our heads. I can add up far quicker than children today.

I was lucky living in the countryside; we had chickens and grew our own vegetables.

I remember one time they fetched a plane down at Fulford. We got our bikes down to watch it and came back with bits of shrapnel. We were excited.

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