大象传媒

I was born in August 1938 a time of sun and harvest fields where I lived at Bedhampton Hampshire. Havant being the nearest country town.
Havant has a Tower Church St Faiths with a peal of eight bells which years later rang on my wedding day (1961).
My father told me the night I was born the circus came to town and along Portsdown Hill he saw elephants walking along holding each others tails ... behind caravans.
One Grandad had died before I was born but the other one left was my mothers father and he made me rabbit hutches, white mice hutches and a wheel barrow taking great care to make the wooden wheel round (see photo)
He had been in the first war and had come back ... and now as my father and uncles were in the second war he was firewarden for Havant. He would see us safe in the shelter and then go out but coming back at times as the bombs fell in Portsmouth and the fire could be seen from Havant.
He would put paper on his fingers and sing "Two Little Dickie Birds Sitting On A Wall" ... etc. and making them fly away to keep me happy. I had a siren suit on made by my nan, it was navy blue. We had bales of straw and candles in Terra Cotta flower pots.
Neigbours would come in too and we would sing.
One August a birthday tea was laid out in the front room of my grandparents house in Havant (we stayed there while dad was away in Egypt on the Northumberland Fusiliers). Uncles were in the Desert rats ... I have letters of theirs.
Anyhow a bomb fell in the allotment close by and our ceiling came down all over my birthday tea ... it was probably my second birthday or third? So no cake that year!
I had a gas mask which looked like Mickey Mouses face.
Mum said she used to have to put me in a baby one before that. After a while mum and I did go back to our home in Bedhampton. Neighbours would come in our shelter or we in theirs ... I met the children of that road and the gypsy children too.
We lived in Ivy Glen New Road, Bedhampton. It had a long garden and was near my other gran and aunt. My fathers family.
We had a Polish lady and her daughter stay and a Jewish lady as evacuees. The shelter being at the bottom of the garden which was very long we did not always get to it when the siren went, so we would go under the stairs and I remember my dolls pram jumped into the air when a bomb fell in a field trying for the railway near by us ... My grans house had a big white split all one side. It was very near the railway gates and small station. But we were OK.
Gran and auntie had been in the outhouse at the time they came up later to listen to Tommy Handley in "Itma" Show "It's That Man Again" ... also there was one on the wireless that would ask "Whats Your Name?" ... and a girl would say "Jennifer" ... I did not like that ... as children would tease me saying that to me and at school later on.
I saw a doodle bug go over our house once and mum pulled me in. I saw glow worms along the garden path at night ... I thought they were fairies ... and woods and owls called at night and creatures everywhere to watch and fields to run in and make hay with everyone. Ride on top of the hay cart back to the farm. Warm milk straight from the cows and tea cakes made by the farmers wife ... we were healthy and happy children.
After the war my grandad bought me a fox terrier smooth haired dog I called Waggles ... my father came home with gifts from Egypt and my Uncles came home ...

This story was been entered on to the People's War website by Lisa Reeves of CSV Action Desk on behalf of Jennifer Trodd and has been added with her permission. The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

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