大象传媒

Mrs Goble wrote down her memories of her childhood. This story A7349259 is a collection of "odds and ends". More of Betty's memories can be found at Articles A4422980, A4422917, A4423033, A7349493 and A7349808.

These stories are submitted to the Archive by The British Schools Museum with her permission.

1) At morning break, each child was provided with a third of a pint of milk. The bottles had cardboard tops with a little pre-cut ring in the centre, into which one put one's finger - either to remove the cap or to insert a straw.

These cardboard tops were used by the girls for 'Knitting Nancy'. Two washed tops together were the ideal size and thickness for 'French knitting', its other name.

Children were also provided with cod-liver oil and malt. This came in a huge dark brown jar and was distributed by dipping large spoons into the jar and given out to children to suck.

2) School buildings were old and cold. Heating was provided by an old stove in one corner of the classroom. On cold days we kept our outdoor coats on in class.

Bombing often damaged the roofs, or pieces of shrapnel would come in through the roof. Either way, holes developed through which water would come when it rained. Buckets would appear and be placed on the desks, or floor, wherever needed. Many text books had pages missing.

Teachers, too, were aged, brought back from retirement. All the younger staff were in the services or doing essential war work. Many young women joined the forces, others became nurses or joined the land army. Many women worked in the munitions factories.

3) I well remember the first time I saw a banana. It must have been just around the end of the war. I was travelling home from school, on the top deck of the bus, from where I could see over the local market. There was a queue of women eager to be served with 'long curved, yellow things', as I told my Mother when I reached home.

4) We were blessed with having our father at home throughout the war, many children did not see their fathers at all. He had lost a leg in the First World War and walked with an artificial leg which had to be replaced from time to time at the Roehampton Hospital.

So many households comprised only women, older men and children. We had a neighbour, Mrs Bush, whose husband I never saw. He was a London fire fighter and must have lived at the fire station. They had two sons, both of whom were away in the army. They both served in North Africa but in different regiments. It must have been desperately lonely for such people.

5) Children used to run to the post of the siren, to try to reach it whilst it was still wailing so that we could put our backs against it to feel the vibrations.

6) There were not many things for children to collect during the war. Some of us collected shrapnel, very spiky bits of steel which would appear overnight in the garden or road, after a bombing. I had quite a splendid collection which I kept in a cardboard box in my bedroom under the bed.

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