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My mother Vicki Piper, like many war mothers was coping alone looking after her sons Leo and Bert. She was a pianist, violist and dancer with ENSA and used to entertain the troops.
She was an only child and rarely talked about the war as it made her very sad to remember that her favourite cousin Freddie was killed in action. In memory of him, she named her fifth child Freddie. She said that the rations were terrible and she would always feel hungry as her priority was to feed the boys.
One story sticks out in my mind of her saying how frightening it was when the bombs fell after the siren. She didn't want the boys to suffer if a bomb fell on the house so would put a pillow over their faces so they would suffocate and be relieved of too much pain. I have often wondered if this was normal procedure or a symbol of a mother's love for her children.

"This story was submitted to the People's War sit by a volunteer from csv/bbclondon on behalf of Caroline Sherwood-Roberts. Mrs Sherwood-Roberts fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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