大象传媒

When war broke out in 1939 and at the age of 4, I was living in a west London Victorian house with my grandparents and aunt on the ground floor and my twin brother and I living with our parents on the floor above. We were born at Queen Charlotte鈥檚 Hospital in St. Marylebone in 1935 and as twins were a rarity at the time, trainee doctors witnessed the birth, with the nurses then naming us Jack & Jill.

The small garden at the back of our Victorian House, had just enough space for an outdoor Anderson Shelter to be erected. This measured 6鈥�6鈥� x 4鈥�6鈥� (1.95m x 1.35m) and was sunk into the ground. It was made from 6 curved sheets of corrugated iron bolted together at the top with a small opening at each end to allow access - fronted by a small wall as a shield of protection. The reason for two openings was that if one end became blocked due to flying debris during an air raid, there was another means of escape. Once this shelter was in the ground, the top would be covered with earth and sandbags stacked around both entrances. To me, it was very dark, damp and tight for space. I seem to remember we used candles for light.

Also at the back of the house was an outdoor toilet with a wooden seat fitted wall- to-wall, which was highly polished by my grandmother. During the air-raids, 鈥済ramp鈥� would sit on this seat, with the door wide open and give us all a running commentary on the fighting of aircraft above (as he refused to use the outdoor shelter) and at the same time was also having great joy in smoking his beloved pipe, as my grandmother forbade him to smoke it in the house! He would also spend a lot of time cutting up small squares of newspaper, making a hole in one corner, which he would then thread with string, to be hung on a very large nail on the wall next to the toilet. Paper was then, in very short supply, as no such thing as toilet paper was available. (Fortunately there was no stain from newsprint in those days!)

We lived in London only a short time before our family was evacuated (including neighbours within the area) to a Manor House in Sussex called 鈥淭he Horseshoes鈥� where the owners, (Lord and Lady Cunliff-Owen) kindly offered their Lodge, which was alongside their house, to accommodate evacuees from London. (This is now a government owned property.) I remember playing in the grounds of their home with their own children where I was convinced I was in a forest (which after London streets seemed highly probable!) When we left, the Lady of the House kindly gave me a beautiful dolls cot - painted pink - which I still have as a permanent reminder of my time spent there.

On our 5th birthday, we eventually moved to a rented house near Cranford Bridge in Middlesex. Here we had fitted an indoor Morrison Shelter, made of very heavy steel, built like a table with four strong corner supports and the four sides covered with wide mesh but with one side only, that lifted up for us to crawl inside. This shelter just fitted into our front room.

We attended William Byrd Primary School in Harlington and rode there each day on our three-wheeler bicycles. During this time, women were encouraged to work in factories while their men were away at war, so on the way to school our mother would work at a local factory called 鈥淢agnatex鈥� which produced petrol cans and would then pick us up from school on her way home. She hated it there and couldn鈥檛 wait for the war to end. Our father worked for C.A.V. located in London, which I believe was an engineering firm and would cycle, there and back, each day. I think this covered around 25 miles daily.

Many times during lessons, we would hear the air-raid siren go. We would immediately pick up our books and together with our gas-masks (which would be carried with us at all times) proceed in an orderly fashion to the underground shelter, led by our teacher. This was still the Anderson, but many of them were joined together to make long tunnels. I think there were two tunnels for our school. On entry to these shelters, each side consisted of narrow wooden slatted benches. Lamps were provided to enable us to continue with our lessons (no slacking whatsoever) but once the all-clear was sounded, we then returned to the classroom to continue as before.

Also at the age of 5 I joined the 鈥淟ucan School of Dancing鈥� as I had always been singing and dancing from the age of 3. My mother thought this would be perfect for me. Classes were held at our Primary School (William Byrd) and were for two hours each week on a Saturday afternoon for the princely sum of 1/- (5p now). It was run by Misses Taylor, Horton and Leonard, all specializing in their own field of tap, ballet and acrobatics. We had a pianist called Mrs. Cantell who always wore a hat when playing for us. One side of her hat had a large turn-up which mostly held a large feather and also a large hatpin. She would literally thump on this piano for the whole of the lesson. She was an old lady, bless her, and like many during the war, was trying to earn herself a few pennies to gain a few extras. She was with us for a few years. Classes were also held in nearby Hayes and Stanwell Moor area and also Clapham in London, which involved a tram ride that shook you from head to toe as it progressed over the tramlines to its destination (though not good if you suffered from travel sickness)! A few of us would be chosen to participate in all these concerts and I was lucky enough to be one of them. Because of the war, materials for costumes were very hard to come by. We did however, manage to find ripped or damaged parachutes that were sold very cheap from a store called Pontings in Kensington. This parachute silk was very strong but because of its shape, needed nimble fingers to cut up and sew. This is where my other grandmother came in, for she made each one of my costumes over the years. In fact, we were forever dipping costumes in buckets of dye to create a variety of costumes for all the concerts.

I would like to mention here, that many brides during the war had their dresses made from parachute silk. My aunt, who was married in 1946, just after the war, had her beautiful dress made with this material by her aunt.

Also available at this time, was 鈥渂lackout鈥� material, which was strong and fairly heavy, but its main purpose was to hang at windows to ensure no light would shine through during an air-raid. In fact, local police would walk the streets to check that not a chink of light was showing, for if so, there was a sharp knock at the door and a stern rebuke was made to put the matter right. We used this 鈥渂lackout鈥� material as part of our uniform for our dance displays. This consisted of a white blouse with a black full skirt which had three rows of coloured bias binding stitched around the bottom and on the reverse side - three rows of white bias binding was again stitched. This gave us two costumes at least for the concerts and we did sometimes use crepe paper and raffia as well.

At the age of 8 and with the war still going strong, my aunt (who was working in London for the Lucas Company), entered my name as a volunteer to entertain the troops established in the London area. As from the age of 5 I had sung and tap-danced in many shows (and at 70 I still am!), I was very keen to have a go. This was being organized by Joe Stanton, who was in charge of the entertainment section of the aforesaid Company. I duly had an audition one sunday morning and was accepted on the spot! The show was called 鈥淭he No.1 Vaudeville Company and Roadshow鈥� and I was the only child star in the cast. I still remember one particular night when we visited Gunnersbury Park. Barbed wire covered the entrance and surrounding barracks, with armed guards on duty, checking the identity of everyone who entered the premises. They laughed and joked with me as I passed through with my parents who were always with me as chaperone. When I was halfway through singing my song: 鈥淕oin鈥� to the County Fair鈥�, (from the film 鈥淪weet Rosie O鈥橤rady鈥�) the air-raid siren sounded鈥︹�� undeterred, I finished my song and dance act to the waves and shouts from the soldiers leaving to go on duty 鈥� they were amazed I did not stop singing when the siren went off. But, I had always been told to 鈥渃arry on, no matter what happens鈥� and this I did.!

I was also in concerts throughout the war with the 鈥淟ucan School of Dancing鈥�, in aid of 鈥淭he Red Cross鈥� and 鈥淧risoners of War Fund鈥�.

Whilst attending William Byrd School and during the last day of term before the summer break-up, the teacher asked for volunteers to entertain the class before we left for home. Up shot my hand and I offered to sing a song. One of the current songs at that time was 鈥淧ut Your Arms Around Me鈥�, which I duly sung with all the appropriate actions. The teacher did not approve and would not allow me to sing again 鈥� but the children loved it! Needless to say, this did not amuse my mother!

Many items such as food was in short supply, so ration books were introduced. Meat being particularly scarce, we were often given rabbit stew. Most families however, if they had the space, would keep chickens. Our garden, being 120ft. long was ideal and of course eggs were plentiful and constantly on the menu. I do remember earning extra pocket money by digging in the garden and looking for wire worms to feed the chickens with!

As our garden was on the large size, our father was able to grow all the fruit and vegetables that we needed for a family to survive. Our mother bottled fruit for the coming winter. We also had an allotment, which was a small allocated plot of land given by the government in all areas, to encourage people to grow their own food. There were large posters everywhere showing a large garden fork, complete with vegetables, telling everyone to 鈥淒ig for Victory鈥�. We were also very lucky to have an uncle send us parcels of tangerines and sugared almonds from Italy where he was fighting the war. We were so grateful to receive these! (Though Jack and I never did see the sugared almonds I am sure mother enjoyed every one of them!)

As there was a shortage of both paper and glass throughout the war, Jack and I would collect newspapers and return glass jars to the local grocer of purchase, to be rewarded with the large sum of 1/2d. per jar! As our pocket money for the week was 6d (5p now) - any extra made us very happy. Water was also in short supply and we were only allowed 4鈥� in the bath.We were also issued with clothing coupons. We had to save these over many weeks for essential items only. School uniforms were also a part of this and again we visited Pontings Store in Kensington for our yearly purchase.

Our father was a member of the 鈥淗ome Guard鈥� covering the Heathrow area. Our neighbour, Mr. Wilkies was a member of the A.R.P unit (Air-Raid Precaution) and his wife was in charge of the W.V.S (Women鈥檚 Voluntary Service). They were both much involved with these local services. Their dog Susie, (a small terrier) had been trained to 鈥渟niff out鈥� people buried beneath the rubble after bombs had been dropped over London during the Blitz. I think she had saved many lives.

My brother remembers an episode where a Lancaster Bomber (on the way to Northolt Aerodrome) made an emergency landing in a field at the back of our house having ran out of fuel. He went there and had a good look with his friends.

On many occasions we saw 鈥渄og fights鈥� going on from the back of our house with our 鈥淗urricans鈥� and 鈥淪pitfires鈥� chasing enemy aircraft across the skies. Large searchlights with their strong beam following their every move, it was quite breathtaking to watch. We also had a V2 ( or Doodlebug) drop onto a house near Cranford Bridge which completely demolished the building.

Even when the war ended in 1945, it took a number of years before we were able to buy such luxuries as chocolates and other goods without restriction of purchase. This is why we appreciate what we have now! These are memories never to be forgotten.

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