大象传媒

1938 WINCHESTER - Assembled gas masks during school time.
1939 Father dug Anderson shelter in a very small back garden. Watched horrific bombing of Southampton (12 miles away)
Joined Red Cross as VAD. Helped voluntarily in the YMCA serving pie and chips to army personnel and dancing with them afterwards - good fun. Attended many local Army Mess parties and dances. Seen home or taken out by many of the men - mostly all very trustworthy blokes and very kind.
Mother had 2 evacuees from Portsmouth and troops were occasionally billeted with her. She herself had a job (first during her marriage) as a receptionist to my father, an optician.
We shared our school with children from Portsmouth. Mornings were for us - afternoons for them. Laurence Olivier and his wife, Vivien Leigh, lived locally (Fleet Air Arm)> He gave a performance in the town - thrilling!
1941 Commenced General Nursing Training on the south coast. Boscombe/Bournemouth. A few nasty hit and run raids on town and many deaths and hundres of casualities - confusing for a new nurse.
Observed many large vessels lying at anchor at sea - surrounded by mist or fog - probably D Day preparations.
Had dates with American servicemen - GI's and also with Canadian and Australian personnel. In off duty helped at an American Mess mostly as dancing partner - jiving and handing out peanut butter sandwiches.
Work in hospital - pretty grim (long hours) and food awful - 3 month periods of night duty every 6 months. Had one date - amazingly fixed up by Matron, but the GI did not turn up. It was D Day the next day. He survived to apologise for not coming.
Life very hectic - always late on duty and Matron very, very strict. Loads of studying for hospital exams which had to be passed before finals and eventually qualifying as SRN.
Holidays taken in London with nursing friends (despite war going on) and bombs being dropped. Very scary up in "The Gods" - all we could afford. We saw Ivor Novello in "Dancing Years" at the Adelphi and Arc de Triomphe at the Phoenix Theatre. I still have the programmes. During a raid you could stay in your seat or go to the shelter.
On the south coast we had the occasional Buzz Bomb flying off course and engine cutting out over us, very frightening. My 21st birthday was celebrated with friends and we had baked beans on toast as a special treat!
Beaches on coast mined and ugly defences erected along foreshore. Very frustrating but later on a small section of beach was opened up if you only knew where??!
Cycling home to Winchester and getting behind a convoy was pretty embarrassing (for a young girl!) Trains were safe, crowded and usually on time.
A very stressful War.

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