大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Ben Russell from CSV Action Desk on behalf of Joan Markham and Joan Elsie Thompson and has been added to the site with their permission. Joan Markham and Joan Elsie Thompson fully understand the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

At the outbreak of the Second World War I was 9 years old and living with my parents and younger brother on the Pype Hayes estate in Erdington Birmingham.

We sat by the wireless set listening to Neville Chamberlin informing the nation that we are were now at war with Germany. Food was eventually rationed, identity cards and gas masks were issued and Anderson shelters built in our gardens. We tried to sleep in those cold, damp, shelters as enemy aircraft rained bombs down upon the city and guns fired ammunition upwards in an attempt to shoot them down.

Every house had to have the windows blacked out and air raid wardens patrolled the dark streets trying to spot any chink of light that might be showing. 'Put that light out' was a familiar cry.

Our first experience of a bomb close at hand was when a delayed action bomb was dropped in front of a block of six houses near to our home which bomb disposal men were trying to dismantle. We went to see what was going on when we were hastily ordered into the shelters by our mothers.

My lifelong friend who lived next door to me was in our shelter nursing my baby brother who was startled when the bomb exploded. It demolished 5 of the 6 houses. This happening so close to us unnerved my mother so my father told her to take us and go to a safe place.

I remember going with lots of other families on a train out of Birmingham and ending up in Malvern Link where we stayed for a few months with another family who had two young boys. We became great friends and those of us who are left are still in contact.

I went to Malvern Link Church of England School, which was a small village school and remember thinking how funny they spoke as I was used to my native 'Brummy'. When my dad wasn鈥檛 on fire watching duty at the Dunlop where he worked he would spend the weekend with us so he could have a good nights sleep. One night mom woke him scared because she could hear a mouse, he wasn鈥檛 very pleased about that!

We came back to Birmingham in Sept 1941, back to sleeping in the shelter. I resumed contact with friends who were at Paget Road Senior Girls School and back to the Church on Chester road. I returned to the Sunday school and also joined the girl guides.

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