´óÏó´«Ã½

Memories of mine

Life at home during the Second World War was awful. I remember the day when the war actually started; it was a terrible day. I could hear the sirens making the most deafening noises as they tested them, but then they sounded the ‘all clear’ which was a completely different noise.

My eldest brother was a pioneer trooper in the Army, my other brother, who worked in the shipyards, was a member of the Territorial Army. Within weeks of each other, both were called up for active service. My younger sister, who was in the ATS, was called up by the Army in 1941.

I attended Plessey Road School. During the war years we had so few school books that we had to resort to writing on the back of wallpaper! I remember that we had to stack newspapers in the class room as it was used as a storage place for them. As I got older and attended high school I remember that we were made to go to Dinsdale House where we were shown how to grow vegetables; I think they were mainly for the school meals.

Bomb shelters were built in the middle of the playground and we had to take our gas masks to school every day in case of attacks. There was also a communal brick shelter located in Stanley Street. On one occasion, we were in the shelter when an incendiary bomb hit a house on the corner of Stanley Street.

Blyth had a large naval base, with submarines and large ships, which meant the town was awash with different nationalities. When you walked down the main road towards the beach you could see barbed wire and road blocks to stop people getting onto the beach, near to the naval base.

On the green, close the quayside, a number of huts were built for the troops. Huts were also built to house the prisoners of war, although they were never seen.

Evacuees:
During the war many people were asked to make room in their homes for evacuees. As we had a spare room we took a family of five into our house. A bomb had destroyed their home in London and left them with nothing. When they arrived in Blyth the only clothes they had were the ones they were standing up in.

Rationing:
Rationing throughout the war was abysmal. Towards the end of the war things became so bad that potatoes were also rationed. My brother used to save all his chocolate from his Army rations to send home to me. When I received the parcel I used to brag to everyone as I had a box filled with chocolate while everyone else had only one bar!

Entertainment:
Even though the war was on we could still go to the pictures, but if an air raid occurred during the film, they would show it on the screen. You would either be told to go home or stay still at the pictures. I usually stayed at the pictures.

Realities of War:
I can remember one fatality at the railway station in the centre of Blyth, when a bomb hit the station. I believe it resulted in one death.

There were quite a few families in the area who had a number of children, some of whom were killed during the war. For example I can remember our next door neighbour who had 6 children. All were sent away to fight, but only 5 returned home as one of her sons was killed; he was only 18 years old.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.