- Contributed by听
- Warwickshire Libraries Heritage and Trading Standards
- People in story:听
- DEREK EVANS
- Location of story:听
- COVENTRY
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A4166363
- Contributed on:听
- 08 June 2005
During the war we had to make our own toys from what was available. One favourite toy was for example an small motorbike wheel,and a stick and many children played with these and we used to have races along the streets, and also in Longford Park.
We also made our own trolleys with pram wheels which we used to run in the streets,
which was fairly safe as there was so little traffic. Most of the children used to collect soldiers cap badges, the German ones were the most popular.
German prisoners of war were building a council housing estate which we called the'Everdon Estate', we used to go and talk to them,they were all very nice and friendly to us, and definitely did not want to escape, there must have been 400 of them, and I only ever saw 2 guards. We used to swop cigarettes we had pinched from home and swop them for their badges! When they ran out of badges they started making toys for us, such as spinning tops, they were beautiful! They also made us whistles as well. It must have been a shock for these lads, they we were fighting them and yet
we had made good friends with them. I was only 8 or 9, we were all very poor, but we didn't feel poor as we were all good friends together.
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