大象传媒

Name Mrs Jennifer Amos
Interview Date 6th May 2005
Subjects covered Morrison Shelters, Evacuation, Make do and Mend (parachute silk)
Location Oxford, London,
People Included

This is an edited extract of a recorded interview conducted by Museum of Oxford with Mrs Jennifer Amos. It has been submitted to the People鈥檚 War website with her permission. A full version of the interview transcript and audio recording will be available at the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies.

Morrison Air Raid Shelter
...life was life was good really I have I was downstairs sleeping at home with my mother and my bed was on top of the Morrison table which was a bit like a cage you'd put an animal in and it was made into a bed so in fact you crawled in at the end and when you were all inside you could only lie down you couldn't sit up cos they were not high enough and you'd pull the... mesh safety thing up and you just stayed there until the all clear went off 鈥�

Evacuation
I remember it well it was a boiling hot summer very very hot and when school started because the war had started we all had to go to school in winter clothing with a rucksack which had a pair of knickers a liberty bodice a vest clean school blouse and ... just that amount of clothes and ... washing stuff for 鈥� if we suddenly had to be evacuated without my mother realising she knew it was bound to happen but she didn't know when beacuse they didn't know what was going on and of course the inevitable gas mask with your school satchel as well so I was nine years old and it was it was a horrendous time really鈥�

Make do and Mend
Yes but then after the war they use the silks and things from the parachutes and if you were lucky and managed to get hold of a parachute you'd make blouses and skirts and things out of them it was beautiful material very strong but I can remember I had a blouse out of parachute an I loved it it was great.

Victory 1945
Oh yes... I wasn't at school then when it... ended because things were happening and the schools just sort of closed but we children realised something was going on because the parents were rushing around like crazy chattering to each other and saying 鈥渋t's over it's over鈥� and we sort of looked at them and thought 鈥渋s it over鈥� you know and then yes we didn't have a street party but we had some parties I can tell you and it was absolutely incredible we actually all survived, apart from my grandmother but .... it was an amazing time people would go out and they'd stay out late and they you'd talk to everybody everybody was so exhilarated and so anxious that everything would be done right to honor the people that actually died or injured in the war whether they were civilians or whether they were in the services.

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