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After night after night with no sleep, I would not go into the Anderson shelter. I was so fed up with it, that I stayed upstairs. One night the windows were blown in, by a bomb on the gasworks in Ash Grove behind us. I managed to walk downstairs and after that I stayed in the Anderson shelter. We then moved to Ham Road.

I was the soldiers’ mascot for the Canadians stationed around us. They were ever so kind; they used to take me up to the Downs in their trucks. (Fort Garry Horse - all killed at Dieppe)

My mother was a char for 6d. My dad was paralysed in World War I and he had a pension for 2s 6d a week. I used to do a paper round delivering the Worthing Herald and earned 2s as week as far as I can remember, which I gave to my Mum. I used to collect my Mum after she had been charring because she was frightened during the nightly blackout.

Looking back I remember how my Mum used to leave me and my sister in charge of Dad, when she was working. I really don’t know how she coped.

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