大象传媒

When the war against Germany ended there were great celebrations. Church bells were rung - during the war they had remained silent. On VE day, Victory in Europe, there were huge bonfires and it was while burning rubbish from the rabbit hutch at the back of the shed in the garden that I watched my first fireworks let off - obtained in a brown paper bag by my Aunt Elsie from Birmingham where she worked.
The fire in Oakley Avenue was one of the largest in the area. The street was known for being tough and the inhabitants had stolen a few barrels of road tar and set fire to them in the avenue. There were street parties but none in Walsall Road. As 'compensation' I was invited to the one in Birmingham Road towards the village. The party to end the second world war altogether (the defeat of Japan) was even bigger. Cakes. Orange squash. Sandwiches. Bunting and races. Rows of tables and chairs on the verge at the side of the road. Records - played at 78 rpm (revolutions per minute) on a wind-up player with steel needles.

Until the Germans had been defeated in Europe the war against the Japanese was not given so much importance - it was considered to be an American issue more than a British Issue. I recall much about the conduct of the war in Europe, far too much for this, and I can still recall headlines in the newspapers, the cartoons, the wireless news, the news reels at the Avion and much more. What this is about is how I saw the war in Aldridge as a child. It is about what I did during and immediately after the war. It is not a history of the conduct of the war. That belongs to the history books.

During the war, and for many years afterwards, very few people had a telephone and communications were made, in the main, by writing. If you wanted to talk to someone you had to go and see them. As a result, communications outside your immediate area were slow I never used a telephone the whole time I lived in Aldridge and never visited a house that had one

(This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from Wyre Forest Volunteer Bureau on behalf of Paul Bailey and has been added to this site with his permission. Mr Bailey fully understands the site's terms and conditions.)

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