大象传媒

I lived in Hockley, in Birmingham, during the war. I remember the night our school, at Helen Street, was destroyed by a land mine. We didn鈥檛 realise it had gone until we went to school in the morning and found that it wasn鈥檛 there any more. Lots of people were killed because they had gone to shelter from the bombing raid in the public shelters by the school. I think it was bombed because it was right next to the railway, probably the Luftwaffe鈥檚 target.

I remember going to school and seeing nothing but a hole where it was. Up on the railway bridge I was a parachute hanging and attached to it was another land mine 鈥� unexploded fortunately. I remember that the Lozells cinema went in the same raid.

I went to several schools during the war 鈥� some were destroyed, others were taken over by groups of evacuees, or children transferred in because their schools were destroyed or taken over for billets. I remember the headmaster of my last school saying to us during one assembly 鈥測ou lot are being trained for cannon fodder鈥�. That was quite disturbing but I suppose in a way he was right. I left school in 1945, aged 14, and I suppose if the war had gone on, I鈥檇 have had to sign up and go off to fight too.

We used to play a lot in the streets. Our favourite toy was a plank and four wheels. I shouldn鈥檛 really tell you this but if anyone left an old pram out we鈥檇 have the wheels and axles off it straight away. The best were the prams with one pair of wheels larger than the other. The large wheels you鈥檇 fix at the back of the plank, the smaller ones at the front. That gave you a bit of steerage. The best run was down Key Hill, Hockley. Straight down the hill, across the main road and onto the flat. We weren鈥檛 too worried 鈥� the main road was never that busy.

Other times, we鈥檇 ride on the railway carts. The GWR depot at Pickford Street had some dray horses that used to pull the carts full of unloaded freight from the trains. As they went past, we鈥檇 run along behind, grab the back of the flatbed cart and swing our feet up onto the back axles - then we鈥檇 hang underneath, riding the carts. Oh! We didn鈥檛 worry about health and safety then.

Other times we鈥檇 play Tipcat. Do you know what that is? You needed a small piece of wood, about 4 inches long by 2 inches, chamfered at both ends. You put this on the road and then tap the pointed end with a bat saying: 鈥榯ip, tip, CAT!鈥� On 鈥榗at!鈥� you hit the pointed end really hard and spun the small piece of wood up into the air. As it flew up, you hit it hard with the bat and sent it flying off down the street. Or if it was me, I鈥檇 hit it straight into a window. I learnt to run fast playing that game!

While I was a boy, I used to earn 2d a week by running errands for an old lady. I鈥檇 collect the batteries from her crystal radio and carry them to the electrician鈥檚 shop to be recharged. Other times, I鈥檇 go to the pub and fetch her beer in a half gallon jug or to the cookshop on the corner to get her a jug of hot tripe and onions. That cookshop sold hot tripes or pigs trotters and such like. I鈥檇 have a little mouthful of beer or tripes on the way home!

I鈥檇 spend my 2d at the cinema. We鈥檇 go to the Palladium, the Regal, and the Lyric. The Lyric was a bit of a fleapit. On of us would go in and then crawl behind the seats to open the side door and let the others in.

When I left school in 1945, the choices open to me were to work in a factory, a brass foundry or the building trade. I鈥檝e always been an outdoor person, so I chose the building trade and stuck with it.

This story was entered by Jenni Waugh, 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War Outreach Officer, at the Severn Valley Railway on behalf of Ron Hughes. Mr Hughes is aware of and accepts the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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