大象传媒

When I was nineteen and my husband Rob was twenty one, at the start of the war,I had a baby a few months old.My husband worked in the local Steelworks earning 30 shillings a week.For that he worked twelve hour shifts, six days a week.He was called up to train for Dunkirk and went off to do his training down South.His wage in the Army was 25 shillings, out of which he had to pay 5 shillings for dubbing for his boots.All throughout the war I received 拢1/6 pence and by the time the war ended I had three children to support, so money was very tight.Near to where we lived was a field where mushrooms grew, so many atime I would be up at dawn with the three children in tow and pick as many as I could,so many in fact,I think we sickened ourselves of them. My youngest was born with a chest complaint, so I paid 6 pence a week for a Doctors fee and a nurse would visit.I paid 2/11 pence for a bag of coal which was the same as a tin of baby milk.I payed 7 shillings for rent,so it was a struggle making ends meet.

One Saturday morning just after nine'o'clock,I was hanging washing on the line when I heard the drone of an aircraft coming ever closer.I looked up and saw this aircraft going so slow and so low,so low in fact I could see the pilot quite clearly.He was very young,small faced and had black hair.It was only when he passed that I realised it was an enemy plane which had sneaked in over the hills.Unfortunately and tragically he went on the bomb the local Steelworks,where there were casualties.No sirens had been sounded till after he had dropped the bombs.I don't know what happened to the plane or the pilot but to this day I will always remember the young pilot with the black hair.

Written with the help and cooperation of Mrs Edna Hewitt by Ged Fleming(Cleveland CSV Story Gatherer)

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