大象传媒

Catherine lived in Salford before the war, and she was 11 when war was declared. The declaration came on a Sunday, and she was evacuated to Accrington on the Friday before. Her sister was evacuated along with her, but she returned home after a week as she was hopelessly homesick. Catherine, on the other hand, was very happy, and stayed with "wonderful people" for months. School for evacuees rotated with school for locals. She was later relocated to Haslingden, and she remembers it as a "horrible experience"; she only stayed there a few weeks. The woman who was looking after Catherine said "they're going to bomb your mother and father" and showed her the searchlights during raids. Catherine remembers an underground shelter, and how no one locked their doors while they were in the shelter; they just took their household policies along with them. She remembers bombs falling and hitting two streets away when she was in her house in Salford. She lost faith in the shelters because of the dangers from panic; her dad often went for a drink when the bombs were falling. Catherine never starved. She loved dried egg. She still doesn't have sugar in her tea; she was too shy to ask for it when it was there during the war.

Interview by Ben McCrory at the Seven Ages of Manchester event, Exchange Square, Manchester, 17 June 2005.

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