大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by Amy, a pupil from Teversham Primary School on behalf of Donald and Dorris Irene Hart and has been added to the site with their permission. Mr and Mrs Hart fully understand the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

Donald Hart was 21 when the war started. He volunteered for the army in September 1939 and worked in the Coldstream Guards. He went on a ship to Algiers. Their ship got bombed in the harbour. He got bombed when he was in the gully but he was ok and a piece of shrapnel went in his thigh. It was from the Germans. They were protecting rather than fighting. Then they went to Italy. In Italy he got trench feet and went to hospital. Trench feet are when your feet go all mouldy. In Italy he also got pleurisy because of the weather. He stayed in Italy and worked in stores. They didn鈥檛 have bomb shelters where he was, he had to build his own out of stone.

Dorris Irene Hart was 18 when the war started. She volunteered for munitions, which is making bullets. She made tracer bullets and anti tank bullets. Anti tank bullets are bullets that can go through tanks. She finished in 1944; she spent 4 years doing that. Then she went to HMV and made circuit boards. Her holidays were spent in Biggleswade, working on farms. In gardens they had Anderson shelters; they were dug about 3 metres down in the ground. They were made with corrugated iron. If you had no garden you would have a Morrison shelter, which was solid iron. They were made in the house. At first Dorris had an Anderson shelter then she had a Morrison shelter. Donald and Dorris were married at that time and they didn鈥檛 see each other for about 4 years.

In 2001 they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

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