- Contributed by听
- Romsey Community School, Hampshire
- People in story:听
- Nancy Bernham
- Location of story:听
- London
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A2831960
- Contributed on:听
- 13 July 2004
Nancy Bernham was 20 years old when the war started. She was working at the 大象传媒 which she really enjoyed and had to work 48-52 hours a week. She originally came from Wales but was living in London during the Second World War.
She said there were lots of bombing attacks on London near where she lived and remembers the church next to her house being bombed and going up in flames. She said she had a very lucky escape from the fires and also remembers trying to hold up the wall of her house so that it didn't collapse. Her family had to shelter from the bombs in the basement of her house and her friend didn't have a shelter; she just had to hide under the table. When she visited Bristol to see her friend, lots of houses had been bombed and were on fire. The blackouts didn't bother Nancy; she said that you just got used to being in the dark.
She didn't lose any friends or family in the war, apart from one cousin who went away to fight and never came back. Her husband was in the RAF and her brother was a medical soldier. When her husband left to fight, she didn't see him for three years. They got married in the ruins of a Welsh chapel in 1942 (it had been bombed). She never met a German soldier during the war but remembers hearing their planes flying over and hearing them drop the bombs, especially during the Battle of Britain. She said that she didn't really mind the rations and that because she worked for the 大象传媒, she often got dinner from them.
When the war started, Nancy remembered thinking that it wouldn't last and that it would all be over soon. She didn't blame the Germans themselves and says that she likes them and doesn't hold a grudge on them because of the war. However, she blames Hitler for the war and thinks he is a madman and that the war was completely unnecessary; she believes that it could have been solved with a discussion. After the war, she joined the Civil Services in Worthing and worked for them until she retired.
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