大象传媒

Here are some of my wartime memories. They are not really exciting memories, but they are my memories. I know I was a lucky child. Mom worked. My Dad was an agent for the Britannic Assurance Company so Mom took on his job and because of that I started Marsh Hill Primary School before I was 5. When it was Christmas time I had some lovely presents. I know they weren鈥檛 new but she had managed to get things for me. Father Christmas even brought me books from my Dad although he was abroad!

I was born in 1936 so I was just 3 years old in October 1939. Some memories are still very vivid. The strongest one is of the day my Dad went to join the RAF. The picture of him turning the corner of our road and waving back to me is like seeing it on video. He was going to catch a tram to start his journey to wherever he had to report. He wore a belted fawn gabardine mac and carried one of those small brown attach茅 cases we used to have. My Mom went back into our house crying and one of the neighbours came to see if she was OK. I don鈥檛 suppose I really understood what was going on.

I don鈥檛 remember much bomb damage in the area we lived (Stockland Green, Erdington in Birmingham). I think we were lucky because it was not far from the Kynocks Works at Witton, were of course ammunition was made, and the GEC. One night the Plaza cinema was hit. We were in the shelter in the garden and Mom thought we must have caught the blast because she couldn鈥檛 open the door 鈥� it was just jammed. Another night one of those small incendiary bombs landed in the garden next door. One day people on the opposite side of the road to us had to leave their houses as a bomb had gone right through one of the local shops causing a crater in the shop but it did not actually explode. Sometimes we could see the homeguard training. They would dodge into shop doorways, hide by the telephone boxes, crawl on the ground. We had a barrage balloon in the grounds of the Highcroft Hall Hospital.

Do you remember the pig bins? They were horrible stinky things. Flies constantly swarming round them. But nevertheless scraps were put in them to help feed the animals.

In the early days of my Dad being away he was billeted in Braunton in Devon. The family he was with was called Moon. I actually went to stay there. One day he took me to where the men were doing some training. When he had 鈥渢ime off鈥� we would go to Saunton. There were very few people about on the beach. The camouflaged planes (Spitfires I think) would fly along there very low 鈥� low enough for the pilot to wave at me! On other occasions we went to Ilfracombe. One day when I was paddling the tide came in and washed my sandals away. Dad had to carry me all the way back to the bus stop to go back to Braunton. I must have been 5 or 6 then.

The digs were on a lane right opposite the railway station and now every time I read about Thomas and his friends to my grandchildren that picture comes back to me because it was a small country station just like in the books.

Sometimes Mom and I would go to the Social Club Mom and Dad belonged to and if there was an air raid while we were there we all went down in the cellars amongst the beer barrels!

Another memory I have was when Dad was in Italy. He sent us a parcel. It was a sewing basket but inside was the prettiest nightie for me that I had ever seen. Mom had a mosaic brooch. I had never seen one of those before. Also the basket had lots of tablet of chewing gum in it. Of course we couldn鈥檛 get that here. Dad must have been in North Africa (Algiers) when he sent the ultimate present! He sent us some bananas 鈥� they were black but because he had sent them Mom made me eat them. I didn鈥檛 want to and I sat on the floor in the lounge hiding so she couldn鈥檛 see my face as I tried to eat them. Also while he was in North Africa he us a shawl each, one is yellow and one orange. Yes, I still have them!

Dad did come home to us and I can remember that day well. I was dressed in my best and waited outside for him. He arrived by taxi 鈥� it was exciting. I think I flew at him as he got out of it. We went for a holiday by train to Llandudno within a day or two of him being home. That must have been June/July of 1945 because guess what 鈥� my brother was born in April 1946!

We must have had a street party as I remember this huge burnt patch from a bonfire in the middle of the road.

I still have one or two things from when my Dad was in the forces. One is an airmail letter. I have two pendants with the crown and wings from badges embedded in them. He had made them from the material used for cockpit covers. Recently I came across his corporal stripes and a radar badge.

I forgot to tell you about our Anderson shelter. It was put at the bottom of our garden in a corner. We had a "small" problem. A couple of times when we were in it Mom realised water was coming in. She had no idea how it got in. On one occasion it actually got to nearly 2 ft deep! When this happened we had to go in with the neighbours. It was eventually moved further up the garden. I think there was probably a spring running somewhere underground, after all a lot of the roads named around Stockland Green were to do with water eg: Marsh Lane, Reservoir Road, Patterdale Road, etc.

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