大象传媒

I was born and brought up in the East End of London. I was 6 years old when the war broke out and my earliest recollection was after the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, broadcasted to the nation that we were at war with Germany.

People were going out into the street and crying. Blackout measures were put in place and if you had one tiny speck of light showing, the air raid warden would severly reprimand you. At the end of our road there was a huge bin that people would use as a food store for the pigs. If anyone was caught putting bread into this bin, there was trouble! Bread was used to the end of the loaf even if stale - bread puddings were often made to prevent wastage.

Rationing was introduced straight away and everyone was issued with an identity card as well as a gas mask. Most people had shelters; our particular one was called an Anderson Shelter, which was shared with another family. Candles were placed in flowerpots for lights and when the guns were fired, the houses shook with vibration.

I was able to use a coal shed as well as a shelter but I was frightened to enter due to the occupancy of mice. After a raid, when the all clear sounded, there was evidence of the gunfire on the ground. Every night you would see the searchlight searching for the German planes and of course you had to be very careful what you said because there was danger of spies and traitors.

I remember that I was told about Barrage Balloons, which apparently would cause a German plane to either crash or create damage...I don't know how true this is??

The worst part for me was being evacuated. I was in London for most of the bombing but was evacuated in 1944. I went to a place called Lindal-in-Furness in Lancashire. Later I was transferred to Dalton-in-Furness and that is where I finished my evacuation in 1945. Some of my experiences of living with strangers were unpleasant due to them not being very kind to me at times.

Additionally, some of the teachers were very cruel in some of the things they said and quite often the London children would be blamed for some of the things that the local children had obviously done! My mother once sent me a parcel containing sweets however, the lady whose house I was staying in, took the sweets from the parcel and gave them to her own children. However, it wasn't all bad, some of the local residents of Lindal were very kind to me.

When I came in one day from school, I saw a red luggage tag and I new then that the war was over and I would be going home. When we all assembled on Dalton Station, waiting for the train to go back to London, there was one or two heart rendering scenes where adults had obviously become very attached to their evacuees but obviously they had to go home to their own parents.

When I eventually got into London, my mother was waiting for me and she hugged and hugged me and I was very shocked to see the damage from the bombing. There was no end of damage.

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