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This story was submitted to the people war Website by a volunteer from Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life on behalf of Ivy Thompson and Her Husband.

IVY THOMPSON AND HER HUSBAND

I was born in 1905. When WW2 broke out my husband and I managed the Kingsway Tavern in Parker Street, Holborn where the trains went underground. At the other end, there was Drury Lane. People came to work just the same. We sold lots of food, but there was rationing so we used a lot of spam to make sandwiches and served so called ‘rabbit’ stew. There were no fridges so ice was brought around twice a week for the food cupboard.

As the pub was near the Law Courts and a lot of secretaries came in. They read posh papers so I used to get the Evening Standard every evening so I could keep up with their conversation. Not many soldiers came to our pub, except the occasional American GIs. They would ask my husband to find a date for them! They always had sweets for the children.

Holborn was bombed terribly near our pub. The Holborn empire was wiped out. If the siren went, customers did not worry much. The pub was never hit, but the windows were often broken by debris flying through the air from other hits. A nearby restaurant, which sold bread, was bombed and all its stuff was thrown into the road such as silver plates. Beggars came and collected up all this equipment and sold it.

We would go home to Harrow at night by car at about 11 p.m.. We never worried about the sirens.

My daughter never came up to London. She was at school in Harrow. Neighbours looked after her until we got back at night.

My husband was in his forties. He had fought in the First world War. He had been taken prisoner and suffered a lot. He didn’t have to go into the forces at first, but his time for call up was coming up when the war ended. He said he would rather cut off his arm than experience the army and fighting on the front line again.

We had a wonderful street part in Harrow at the end of the war.

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