大象传媒

This contribution to WW2 People鈥檚 War was received by the Action Desk on 大象传媒 Radio Norfolk. The story has been written and submitted to the website by Jane Bradbury (Volunteer Story Gatherer) with the full permission and on behalf of Marie Randall.

Sep. 3rd. The family were gathered in my Aunt鈥檚 living room awaiting the Prime Minister鈥檚 declaration of war. After the announcement we all trooped out to Church to attend my cousin鈥檚 wedding. She had sat waiting with us ready in her bridal dress. I was 17 and 9 months. I worked at Howlett and White鈥檚 shoe factory, and being a qualified first aider with St. John鈥檚 Ambulance Brigade was immediately made responsible for first aid and seeing my workmates safely across the road to the air raid shelter. During one raid I narrowly missed a spurt of gunfire from a low flying plane. We also worked voluntarily after working hours till late at night assembling gas masks.
My future husband, on volunteering for the forces, was sent to Letchworth to train as a civil engineer prior to being transferred to a munitions factory in Luton. He cycled home several weekends from Letchworth.
While still in Norwich with St. John鈥檚 Ambulance I used to meet the troops arriving at Thorpe Station where we served them with baked beans and tea in a large wooden shed set up for the purpose.
We decided to marry (I still have the congratulation telegram sent by a close friend serving in the far east) and three weeks later Norwich had its first big air raid. Father was fire watching, I was blown downstairs, suffering a head injury. Mother had hysterics. No time for the shelter, I dragged her under the living room table, grabbed a stocking and a jug of milk to bathe my head, and at the all clear answered a call for help to a neighbour who had badly cut her head on the shelter entrance. Somehow I found myself in charge of a groupof people heading for a first aid centre in an army jeep. My patients were passed OK. I was diagnosed as in shock, wrapped in a blanket and sent home to bed. I awoke next morning to find my parents covered in soot, still clearing the house.
On volunteering for the Land Army I was sent to Luton to work in a munitions factory. It was hard work, managing lathes, cooking shell cases, for which we wore big asbestos gloves, pushing large bogies (barrows) about. Our uniform consisted of a khaki overall and our hair tied up in a turban. General conditions were atrocious, and I threatened to call a strike if they didn鈥檛 improve. They did and I was asked to represent the factory in the local Beauty Queen contest. I refused. I was 5 months pregnant. It was here I had my first introduction to bed bugs. Thinking our itchy bumps were something we had eaten I went to the doctors, who just gave me a long look and recommended cammomile lotion. It was confirmed the beetles in our bed were bugs and the room had to be fumigated. Although the landlady blamed it on my new eiderdown it transpired she had bought a second hand mattress and bed already infested. The landlady also turned out to be a kleptomaniac.
Another story in itself:
I returned home to Norwich to have my firstborn at the Woodlands Hospital, now known as West Norwich Hospital. There, every night, mothers and babies were taken down to a cellar, laid on mattresses on the floor in rows, the babies with luggage labels tied to their wrists to make sure we didn鈥檛 mix them up.
There were many happy, funny, sad memories but what we all enjoyed and were grateful for was the comradeship and friendship that existed throughout.

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