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This story was submitted to the Peoples War site by Anastasia Travers from CSV Action Desk on behalf of Colleen Carr and has been added to the site with her permission. Colleen Carr fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

I remember hearing Neville Chamberlain on the old wireless set saying war had been declared. I didnt understand what it all meant, I was only seven but knew the statement was very serious by the look on my parents faces. Myself and my sister, who was eleven months older then me went to Corpus Christie Catholic School in Stechford. My dad was a park keeper and not long after war had been declared joined the Army as part of the royal engineers. When we saw him for the first time in his uniform we were very proud and couldn’t help bragging to all our friends.

We were issued with gas masks and were taught by our teachers how to use them, breathing in and getting paper to attach itself to them. At the time we found it very exciting and had no idea what the future had in stall for us. I remember in 1940 all the terrible raids we had and a neighbour attaching his shelter to ours as he didn’t want my mom in a shelter alone with 2 young girls. When the sirens went we would take old chairs and plenty of coats and blankets because it was so cold.

At school we had brick shelters and the teachers would march us to the shelter singing songs such as ‘Nick Knack Paddy Wack’ so we didn’t hear the bombs falling. I had a special friend called Mary who was one of a family of ten who I would call for on my way to school. Every day after school I would go to her house because my mom had a job in a doctors surgery. I remember one day going back to her house and her mom had made a cake, this was a real luxury during the war as you were only allowed one egg a week due to rationing. The cake smelled so nice and Mary asked for a piece but her mom said no as it had to be shared with a lot of people. I was told to come round as usual the next day and I would get a slice then. Mary’s mom was such a generous person that she would give her life away.

That night there was a terrible raid in Birmingham and we were in the shelter most of the night. We could hear the bombs dropping but we were told stories to take our mind of it. The next morning we went to school as usual and forgot about the night before, little was I prepared for the shock I received when I got to my friends house and it wasn’t there. A bomb had completely destroyed it leaving bodies all over the front garden and there were air raid wardens telling people to stay away. I remember saying I have come to see my friend but she was dead, as well as 6 of her brothers and sisters and her dad. The only survivors were her mom, her older sister and two baby brothers. I remember I kept thinking of that cake and wishing that her mom had given Mary a piece when she asked. That day made me realise that you need to give what you can today because tomorrow may never come.

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