大象传媒

This is the story of how I became a gas-mask guineau pig!

I was eight years old, living in Darley, near Harrogate. My father was a sergeant in the ARP (Air Raid Precaution Service.) When he was on standby, he would have this rattle. His colleage, a Mr Holden, would drive this van through several villages in the Dales, including Dacre and Burstwith.

But the gas masks needed testing on a regular basis, and that was my job. I was given a small sized one. It had a celluloid mask, but a cloth hanging beneath it covered the whole of the top of the body. So, we'd go along to a cleared out pig-sty, and he'd set off smoke bombs while I stood in the pig-sty, wearing a mask. My three older brothers were also roped in. I think we did this about once a month, to test that none of them had gone faulty.

I wasn't bothered by this. I looked forward to it! It was exciting, and I was the only person I knew (other than my brothers) to have tried it. These days, I suspect ninety-five percent of people would simply refuse to do it.

Another memory I have is of taking part in a pretend raid -- lying out with other children in ditches pretending to be casualties. Three bombs did in fact fall in the area, one of them damaging the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN SUBMITTED BY JOHN YOUNG OF 大象传媒 SOUTH EAST TODAY ON BEHALF OF MR FRED SKAIFE. MR SKAIFE UNDERSTANDS THE SITE'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

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