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In 1942, when I was 12, I attended the Hay Currie Emergency School in Poplar, London E14. One day our headmaster, Mr Porter, asked every child aged 11-13, to write a composition, (the old fashioned word for an essay), with the title of MY WAR EFFORT.
Two essays were chosen from each class. The winners then had to set up their own story in type and print them on an old fashioned, by today's standards, printing press. Our headmaster, who owned the machine, conducted the group. When the printing was completed, he bound all the pages into small booklets.
We were told that the books were going to be sent to America, to show them how the English children were coping with the war.
Each of the winners was given a copy of the book to keep: I still have my copy today.

The following is my story, as it appeared in the 1942 booklet:

MY WAR EFFORT
June Counter (12 years)

I can help the War Effort by saving my money, such as instead of spending two pence a day I will only spend a penny a day and if possible only spend a penny in two days, and put the other penny into my money box. At the end of the week I will empty it and buy a savings stamp. I save my money every week. I have put three pounds in the bank since October in savings stamps then I took it out and put it on my Post Office Savings Book. Since February 8th 1938, I have saved thirteen pounds ten shillings, which is now in the bank.
Another way I can help is to eat everything I am given because we must not waste anything. My mother says the Russian children would like the food you have and would not waste a bit of it. My mother will not let me leave any food but if I only leave one potato and have a big dinner she will let me have my money.
Another way I can help is by saving paper. The paper man who I have my comics off of said if I keep them clean he will buy them back off of me. We must save paper because our Merchant Navy risk their lives for us and the more paper we save the less boats are sailing for paper and instead they fetch vital things such as food and munitions. On dust carts it says Raw Material is War Material.
Lastly I can help by saving my clothes and sewing buttons on when needed and don't get them so dirty because the more they are washed the thinner they get and soap is rationed now and if you get oil on them you use more soap to get it off.

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