大象传媒

I was nine years old during the May Blitz, but as I was an only child my parents had decided that I would not be evacuated so I stayed at home. However a friend, who I called Auntie Nora, was going to the Lake District for a break and offered to take me with her. I was to stay the night at the friend's house in Bootle before setting out the next day but apparently I screamed so much for my Mother that I had to be taken home. I was very much in disgrace but the next morning Auntie Nora arrived. She was in a terrible state and appeared to be ill, but I was not told what was wrong. However, I seemed no longer to be in disgrace and everyone seemed to be pleased with me. I did not find out until I was about sixteen that the house had been destroyed by a bomb while Auntie Nora was bringing me home. If I had not been so difficult we would all have been killed.

After Pinehurst Avenue School was hit by a bomb
groups of 6 or 8 children would gather together in house and a teacher would come to give us lessons.

We were in the Anderson shelter when a bomb blew up an ammunition train on the nearby railway. The explolsions went on all night and when we emeerged next morning the gardens were all white, as though it had been snowing. It turned out to be gun cotton from the ammunition. I was rather glad when a piece of the railway equipment was blown through my music teacher's piano and I did not have to have any more lessons, although I regretted this in later life

My Mother was the Salvage Steward for our Road. Every week we would collect the salvage - old pots and pans, paper,etc. I enjoyed going through it to see wht we had got. Sometimes I wanted to keep something but it all had to go for salvage.

After Pinehurst Avenue School I went to Holly Lodge, and we were playing hockey one day when the teacher called us in and told us to go home. It turned out to be V.E. Day. V.J. day came when we were on holiday at Butlin's in Filey. Part of the holiday camp was occupied by the R.A.F. and when the announcement came they made a huge bonfire with all the wartime posters. The children in the holiday camp had a party which went on to 11pm which we thought was very late. Many were in fancy dress and one man wore a white suit covered in red white and blue ribbons.

As children we were not really very much aware of the war. When someone in the street received a "yellow telegram" - news of the death of a family member, we children were aware of something happening, but we were never told what it was.

I had an uncle who was in the navy and we used to write to each other regularly. He told me that my letters were passed all around the ship and greatly cheered up the crew. My Uncle was a stamp collector and used to send me stamps from the country he was in. I did not realise what he was doing at the time, but my uncle told me to keep the stamps not in country order, but in the order in which I received them. His letters were censored and he was not allowed to say where he was, but when he returned the order of the stamps provided him with a record of his voyages.

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