大象传媒

On September 3rd I recall my mother was cooking Sunday lunch when it came over the radio that we were at war with Germany. The colour drained from my mothers face as, although I was the youngest and would be 12 the next month, I had 3 older brothers and sisters, so we knew at least the older 4 would be called up for war duty.

I was evacuated in November 1939 with nearly all of my school. We all boarded buses carrying a small case and with our gas masks in a cardboard case slung round our necks. I went to Kirkby-in 鈥擜shfield, Nottingham. Another girl and I were billeted with a very nice family who had two younger boys. They were originally from Scotland so we would all go to Kirk every Sunday. We used to have Yorkshire Pudding as a desert with Raspberry Vinegar on. The local school made us very welcome and promoted me to Head Prefect. Coming from a large family, I soon became very homesick, and, after much pleading with my mother, I returned home in January 1940.

One of my brothers went into the army and the other two went into munitions factories. My oldest sister went as a bus conductress as all the men had been called up, and another sister trained as a nurse. Although we had an Air Raid shelter in our garden, we preferred to go with other neighbours to the very large shelter belonging to the school which was opposite out house. Mother and we four girls would go trotting across the road carrying our bedding every night as soon as the sirens went. What a sight we looked. Fortunately we did not have any bombs dropped in our area, nor did we lose any of our family to the war.

With all the shortages and the dreadful blackout every night life was tough at times, but we had a lot to be thankful for.

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