大象传媒

There was a searchlight camp one and a half miles from the village centre. I used to watch them sweeping the sky with their powerful light beam. Some nights there were so many searchlights shining it looked as if every village had them.

Through the war years I had a regular newspaper round as well as working on the farms. This was Saturdays until about 1 pm and school holidays when the farmer did not want us. As well as delivering around Swineshead I and the newsagent I worked for would cycle to the next village of Bicker to deliver there. One day about half way between the villages we came across a spitfire aircraft which had crash landed on its belly beside the road, with just one airman guarding it. He wanted a newspaper for a few days until they got the aircraft removed.

A man who lived near our school kept racing pigeons. We would often see an RAF vehicle there collecting some more pigeons to send with the bombers on air raids over Germany and may fly back with a message.

All signs were removed until the end of the war. Church bells were silenced until the war鈥檚 end too. As I walked to and from school; it was about 1 录 miles. We used to have air raid and gas mask drill at school. I saw the WLA hostel built and then the British restaurant and school canteen. I had a hot lunch every day then. I think dinner and sweet cost 8d. The British Restaurant closed in January 1946; the school canteen went on until July 1975.

From the winter of 1939/40 there was a shortage of goods in the shops. Everybody was issued with ration books and we had to have coupons to get almost everything. At times we were only allowed 2 ounces of sweets per week.

Some people built air raid shelters in the garden but our mother used to get us under the stairs. That was said to be a strong part of the house. On till nights or when the wind was the right way we could hear the wailing sound of the air raid siren at Boston. Boston did get some air raids and Swineshead, with other villages, got a few stray bombs.

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