大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the site by the 大象传媒's Peoples War Team in the East Midlands with Beryl Bickerstaffe's permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

There were a lot of other disadvantages with regard to social life. Theatres and cinemas closed at about 9.00pm as the last buses from town left around 930pm. The ice stadium where I had been a regular visitor closed for the duration if the war.
Shortages grew worse and worse as the war progressed and included make up, leather goods, rubber goods, light bulbs, electrical goods, swim suits, coal and coke and toys to mention but a few.
Stockings because all except lisle ones were in extremely short supply, they were saved for special occasions and we browned our legs and also drew a seam up the back with a moistened eye brow pencil. Many girls received nylons from American forces in town.
Toys were considered non-essential so toys that one had grown out of were in great demand on the second hand market. Many people also made toys especially wooden ones, soft toys, fabric toys and knitted ones.
Swim suits, because I had grown out of mine, my Aunt Gerties very kindly knitted me one, however, disaster. Once it got wet it stretched and sagged leaving me clambering out of the pool endeavouring to clutch around my interesting areas large amounts of heavy knitted fabric. I don鈥檛 recall ever being more embarrassed.

My mother gave me a ten shilling note to carry around with me and, as I regularly walked from town on my way home from school, I was told to join a queue I saw. Whatever was being sold could be used for barter or goodwill if one didn鈥檛 want it oneself. Even when buying this way one was rationed by the shopkeeper who decided how much of whatever was on sale was to be allowed to each purchaser. Some of the things that I bought that I can remember were 5 rolls of wall paper, writing paper and envelopes, unrationed food items etc. After one had joined the queue news was passed down front of what one was queuing for and how much it was. After I returned home several times having discovered that I did not have enough money to purchase the item on sale, my mother increased the amount to 拢1.

My mother decided very early on in the war that father and I should have our midday meal in the canteen and school dining room respectively and that she would go to the British Restaurant situated on Broad Street Hockley. This meant that no rations were used for these meals and so what we had went further. British restaurants were started by the government 鈥� they served a basic lunch and pudding, there was no choice but the cost was very small. They were planned originally to cater for workers of small companies where there were no canteen facilities. We did quite well really due to this and to the fact that my mother had registered one of us as vegetarian so we got different items that way.

We were very heavily into the make do and mend scheme prevalent at the time. People made one new dress out of two old ones, a pinafore dress out of a winter dress gone under the arms, shirts for boys out of old men鈥檚 shirts and other children鈥檚 clothes out of old adult garments.

One saving item 鈥� people were requested to have only 5鈥� of water in their baths.

I mentioned earlier taking a gas mask to school together with books and sports gear. Each day at school staff were obliged to check that we had our gas masks with us. After D-day we stopped taking the masks to school.

There was another government scheme to obtain goods cheaply, wool was supplied from a central depot to anyone who called in colours or navy blue, khaki and air force blue together with patterns to knit stuff for the troops. They were ticked off when finished and further wool supplied I made jumpers but mother, who was not a good knitter became proficient in knitting sea boot stockings out of thick oiled wool.

The East Midlands boasted a large number of specially built airfields for both bomber and fighter squadrons.

There was a large NAAFI on Bridlesmith Gate and, when one was lucky enough to be taken there by a member of the forces, it was fascinating to hear so many languages, accents and dialects being spoken all around. The food was better there than elsewhere too.

There were many Army camps in the area. There was one in Colwick Woods for Americans and later used for Italian prisoners of war; a camp was constructed for German prisoners of war in Wollaton Park and there as another one towards Mansfield. The Italians were very popular 鈥� they were not kept in camp but were allowed to go where they wished as long as they were back in camp before 10pm. Of course if they were out of camp at mealtimes they didn鈥檛 get any. One got the impression that they wanted to see out the war in as much comfort as they could and they didn鈥檛 want any hassle. Those in the Orkney Isles who built the Churchill Barriers constructed their own church out of a Nissen Hut and reconstructed old tin cans and a painted interior that looks phenomenally realistic.

The winters were particularly difficult during the war, getting about was quite dangerous during the full blackout especially on cloudy or rainy nights. Everyone carried torches with peaks on the top to stop the beam going upwards, those vehicles that were still on the road had covers on their headlamps with down ward facing slits to let out the light.

Sticky tape was stuck onto all windows going over the glass and onto the frame 鈥� this was important as it was intended that it would keep the glass from shattering and being driven into people and objects.

Once the war started holidays became less interesting. In 1940 we had a week in Blackpool but other war time holidays were taken in Skegness until I went to Cornwall to stay with uncle Burt and Auntie Maud for the long school holidays of 1944-1945. In some ways there was little point in going to holiday resorts, there was only a very small strip of beach that one could go on in Skegness, all the rest was land mined. Travelling by train was also very different from pre-war too. In train compartments where people had sat three per side with arm rests in between the centre and outer seats, the armrests were sewn back and the compartment intended to take four per side.

To compensate to some extent for travel being limited and people having little or no holiday, the government provided funds to local authorities to lay on summer amusements and entertainments. In Nottingham we had an open air theatre at the castle and the arboretum and regattas on the river Trent.

Quite a lot of amateur musicians and artists joined ENSA which was started up to entertain the troops. Teams went to fighting areas 鈥� I would have liked to have joined but being only 15 and 16 when VE and VJ days were celebrated, I was too young.

All around the edges of the city and in parks with in it, anti aircraft batteries were built. Whenever enemy planes came near they opened fire . Searchlights situated nearby aided the process. The searchlight crews only worked nights but the anti aircraft crews worked shifts.

Planes were in the air all the time, it was rare not to see at least one. Fighters who had shot down an enemy plane would perform a victory roll.

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