大象传媒

In late August 1939 my school friend and I were looking forward to our weeks holiday with my Mom and Dad at Weymouth, but war clouds were gathering and just a few days before we were due to go my Dad was called up into the army. He was a reservist in the Royal Engineers in a railway company. Every year he used to go on training for a fortnight, to a camp near Aldershot. He loved it! My Mom hated it! He used to be paid every year for being a reservist. Mom used to call it 'Blood money', but it did come in very useful when money was so scarce. I suppose it was like a couple of weeks of freedom with the lads.

Anyway, he packed all his kit, put on his uniform and off he went to war. Mom was heartbroken. Brother Jack had just finished school in the July and I had another year to do. My school certificate year! We never started school until the end of October, air raid shelters had to be built and new rule of how we would conduct our lives laid down.
Mom found herself a little job. In those days very few mothers went to work. Their job was to look after the family.

We soon got into a new routine. I would be home before Mom and I would start on the evening meal after I'd done my homework. Sometimes I would go to town and meet her to help carry the shopping home. By Christmas Dad was in France at Rennes in Britany working at the marshalling yards there. It was a very unhappy Christmas for us all, but we soon settled into our new lives. Then came the May when the Germans attacked through Belgian and France. What a worrying time that was. I used to come home every dinner time frightened in case there was a telegramme with bad news. We didn't have any news for what seemed a long time. Then a card arrived from Dad to say that he was safe and he had arrived at the port where we had been going on holiday! I still have the card today.

This story was told by Margaret Price

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