大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People鈥檚 War by a volunteer from Lincoln CSV Action Desk on behalf of Pauline Green and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Green fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

My father was head forester at Belton house on the outskirts of Grantham during the 1939-45 war and so we lived in the centre of the grounds belonging to the big house. As the war progressed I saw my eldest brother leave home to join the Grenadier Guards and my dad become a Special Constable helping to keep the police service at full strength whilst the regular men served in the armed services.

We used to go to school in Syston which is about a mile away and is the next village to us, and so we were able to walk to and from school even going home for dinner.

Because we were near to Barkston Hall Aerodrome which was subject to bombing, we were taught to sit under the teachers table when a raid was on. I can remember feeling the ground move under me as the bombs were dropped close by.

I don鈥檛 think the war made a lot of difference to us in villages. We still played in the fields. We never went short of many things and there was always someone close by that you could barter with if you were short of something.

I can remember two evacuees from London being billeted at our house. I felt really sorry for them when I saw them standing on our front doorstep. They looked quite mucky compared to us, but then again I did not know that they had come a long way and only had the clothes they stood up in. They looked lost and sorry for themselves as they stood in front of us with their gasmasks slung over their shoulder with a label in their lapel showing their names and where they had come from. It didn鈥檛 help matters when it was found out that the evacuees had got nits in their hair but my mum soon got rid of them with some lotion and horrible smelling soap. My mum also did some dress making and knitting and generally helped all the children in the village.

Later on during the war I went to The National School and Girls Central School in Grantham. I caught the bus in and out staying for dinner at the school and carrying my gas mask with me at all times. Because Grantham was subject was subject to more air raids at these schools you were taught to sit under you school desk during an air raid until the all clear was given.

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