大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War Site by Three Counties Action, on behalf of Sheila Farrow, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was off school for three weeks due to the fact that one of my sisters had whooping cough (siblings of the afflicted were not allowed to attend school)
During that time, I clearly remember sitting on the settee, with my treasured doll on my knees. My mother called out, with great excitement in her voice, to come and look out side. In response to her call, I jumped up, my china headed doll (the rest of it was cloth) fell from my knees on to our cardinal red tiled floor and smashed.
Although very upset but wishing to do my mothers bidding I stood at the door, sobbing, witnessing khaki truck after khaki truck filled with soldiers driving past our house. All were cheering and waving in jubilation.
This, my mother informed me, was VE Day.

VJ Day 14/15 August
Aged 8 years 11 months

My father, a soldier in the Royal Engineers (a Sapper) happened to be on leave the day that the victory over Japan was announced on our radio. With the words 鈥淚鈥檝e been waiting for that鈥�, his head dropped into his hands and he absorbed all that the announcement meant to him and everyone else.
That evening, I and two younger sisters were allowed to go about half a mile down the road to a huge bonfire that had been spontaneously lit on a piece of waste land All the surrounding streets turned out to watch. Many people provided all manner of items to burn on the fire. Golden sparks shot up in exploding showers against the night sky.

It was so exciting

On the way home, by the light of the fire, I spotted glinting on the pavement a sixpence piece鈥� A Fortune

A lovely end to an historical day.

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