大象传媒

Whale of a time

Many Over the age of 60 will remember with sadness and joy the vibrant days of the 1940s. Those younger given the wonder of modern technology now have an excellent opportunity to discover how we lived then and how the world has changed so much in 60 years.
For those of us who were wartime children the war seemed to be part and parcel of life. We had not known any different.
We were certainly not starved of adventure, there was so much going on. It was great to see the Spitfires and Hurricanes coming and going from Northolt. We felt so proud- most of us wanted to be fighter pilots when we grew up.
I can remember clearly standing in our back garden in Hamden Road, watching a dogfight between Spitfires and Messerschmidts. It continued for about five minutes and, although they were very high, we could hear their guns firing. Much to our disappointment nothing happened but we cheered loudly when a Spitfire chased a German and disappeared over the skies of Hatch End.
We all collected shrapnel - the jagged fragments of anti-aircraft shells - and eagerly compared our findings. After an air raid it could be found everywhere in the fields and stuck in barks of trees.
Once we spotted a light aircraft whish was unusual. It was a 鈥淛erry鈥� because we spotted the black crosses on the wings, and we couldn鈥檛 understand why the air raid warning hadn鈥檛 sounded. It wasn鈥檛 dropping bombs - instead mysterious strips of brown paper tape showered down.
Just afterwards the siren was heard and we quickly made for the Anderson air-raid shelter. Later we discovered the tape was the enemy鈥檚 method of interfering with our communication systems.
Coming up to D-Day the main street of Harrow and Wealdstone were frequently visited by allied servicemen of all nations. Those from the commonwealth forces wore an identification tag on
their sleeves showing their country There were Canadians, Poles, Australians and french.
The Americans were very distinctive in their gaberdine uniforms - they seemed always to smoke cigars and chew gum. 鈥淕ot any gum, chum鈥� became a well- known phrase and they were certainly very generous with their hand-outs of gum and candy to the local youngsters.
Processions were commonplace too. Our own Home Guard frequently matched the streets and we youngsters tagged behind with broomsticks over our shoulders doubling as make believe rifles. It was all a great adventure.
We sensed a new feeling of hope and resilience which abounded everywhere. D-Day was imminent and there was a strong feeling of confidence that Hitler could now be beaten. Winston Churchill told the nation so over the wireless and loudspeakers in factories and everywhere.
He was our inspiration and, without a doubt, captured the spirit and sheer determination of a Britain which was still great. He was the right man for the right job at the right time.
At the time those who could afford their own motor cars were asked to restrict their journeys unless absolutely necessary. If there was an air raid the driver should stop immediately and park the vehicle away from the road before finding shelter.
Priority was given to the movement of military vehicles. American jeeps were seen everywhere and queries were raised by disgruntled local car-owners that the Yanks were using the jeeps for everything other than military purposes 0 even for giving rides to girlfriends.
But it was generally accepted that the GIs as they were called, along with our troops, could be at the battlefront at any time so why shouldn鈥檛 they let their hair down.
Full of the excitement of the time we youngsters fought out own wars in the streets and fields of Harrow Weald. All manner of implements were salvaged from bomb sites to make our own headquarters and we even made jeeps from old pram wheels, kitchen sinks and old cupboards. Small planks were strapped across a central plank which sufficed as our wings and we became air fighters having imaginary dogfights in the sky. Of course the RAF always won.
Parents told us stories of what it would be like when the war ended. For us of course it was the status quo, we had know nothing different. They told us about the things to eat which were unheard of as far as we were concerned. Example - a banana, what was that and did we eat the skins! Our main dies then was porridge, stews for dinner and bread and dripping for tea, anything to fill our tummies sufficiently given the meager food rationing.
Sweets came in very short supply and chicken was a Christmas luxury. We kept out own chickens so we were fortunate to have more eggs than the ration book allowed.
Our parents also talked about lights everywhere in the streets and on buildings. It seemed that when the war ended it would be like a fairytale place to live. Teachers, eager to promote high spirits, were telling us to keep our peckers up and that the life of misery now shared by us all would soon end and we would all be happy again.
It was not like that though. We youngsters were having a whale of a time - we were certainly not miserable. Looking back I guess it was a case of what we never had we never missed, although we were always conscious of the trauma the war caused.
It amazes me to this day how the British managed to hold out despite the terrible consequences of war and still managed to cope with bug families, as there were then.
Glad they did. Perhaps D-DAY came at just the right time.

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