大象传媒

September 3rd 1939 is as clear to me 65 years on as if it was yesterday. I was 14 and a half years old. As usual, I had gone to morning service at the Parish Church. There was always a contingent of soldiers from Peninsula Barracks on Church Parade and this Sunday was no exception. The vicar was late putting in an appearance 鈥� most unusual 鈥� then the soldiers quietly left. Minutes later the vicar arrived and announced from the pulpit that we were now at war with Germany. Germany was a long way away so I wasn鈥檛 too bothered. It wouldn鈥檛 touch us, would it? When I got home my mother told me, 鈥測our Daddy has had to go to the Drill Hall. We don鈥檛 know where he is going nor when he will be coming home.鈥� I ran all the way to the Drill Hall but just saw the last truck leaving and he wasn鈥檛 on it. The bottom of my world fell out. The war was closer to me than I had thought.

My Dad had been a regular soldier from the age of 16, fought at Ypres and Mons and was an 鈥極ld Contemptible鈥� 鈥� part of the BEF which the Kaiser called 鈥榓 contemptible little army鈥�. Since leaving the army he had always been in the Territorial Army then changed at some point to the RAF VR Balloon Barrage Section. My mother and my aunt had joined Queen Anne鈥檚 Nursing Volunteers attached to the 12th Cheshire Regiment and her husband was a Special Constable, so they were busy with classes and nursing and police duties. When the air raid warning went, we were taken to the air raid shelter whilst they reported to their respective posts. This left me to look after my brothers, who were 11 and 13 years old, and my 11 year old cousin. A lot of nights were spent in that underground shelter on Oakwood Field where we knew a lot of the people and the ARP wardens. We were safe and well looked after. The adults did their best to keep us all amused 鈥� sing-songs, telling stories etc. Sometimes, when all seemed quiet, some of the men would venture to the nearby chip shop for a 鈥榮hipping order鈥�. We certainly appreciated our supper those nights. The chip shops opened on a rota as the fat for frying was rationed and potatoes were not always available.

My older brother was a sea cadet, my younger brother was a cub scout, and my friend and I were two of the first members of the newly formed Women鈥檚 junior Air Corps, we were all doing out bit. I learned a lot of first aid and home nursing as I was roped in as the dummy for bandage practice, 鈥榤edical chart鈥� for learning the position of bones and location of various internal bits and pieces vital to life, then question-master testing the knowledge of my mother, my aunt and anyone of that ilk gathered at our house.

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