大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War Site by Katie Holyoak, for Three Counties Action, on behalf of Brian Gurney, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

September 3rd 1939 was a Sunday and, when the news came through, people came out into the streets wondering how it would affect them. I was then 9 years old and out with my friends in the afternoon when the sirens were sounded and their parents were rushing around in some panic looking for them, but shortly afterwards the all clear was sounded. I still do not know whether it was a test or a false alarm! The sirens wailed (high and low repeating for the warning, and one long tome for the all clear) and were to be sounded when an air raid was imminent. That sound always sent a shiver down one鈥檚 spine.
Although television had been invented it was not available throughout the war so we got the news from the radio, and I remember sitting listening to the news bulletins every evening at 6o鈥檆lock as well as speeches from political leaders. One of these was Winston Churchill who took over as Prime Minister in 1940 and made some wonderfully inspiring speeches especially when we felt nervous about the war and the future. He had a growling voice saying 鈥渢he Nazis鈥� (the enemy) with real contempt. One quotation is 鈥淲e will fight them on the beaches鈥︹�︹�︹�� and , referring to the Air Force 鈥淣ever, in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few鈥� (think about it!)
Perhaps we should not have done, but we also listened to radio broadcasts from Germany, by a traitor trying to upset the British people. He was known to us as Lord Haw Haw and started his reports with the words 鈥淕ermany calling, Germany calling鈥� 鈥� it sounded like 鈥淛armony鈥� which made us laugh.
In 1938, before the war started, all the children, and eventually everyone, was issued with gas masks in cardboard boxes, about half the size of a shoe box, which had to be carried at all times. This was because the government feared that gas would be used as it had been in the first world war, but thank goodness it never happened. The masks were mostly of rubber 鈥� a bit smelly 鈥� and fitted tightly over the front of one鈥檚 face making it a little difficult tot breathe and very difficult to talk!

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