大象传媒

Patrick John Harper interviewed by Matt Harvey 15/4/2005
Transcription by John David of a Video recording of the interview.

Finally, my father picked us up, and my brother told me we went to Liverpool. But he said it was too much bombing being done there, you head up to Mansfield. He intended to take us there, because that鈥檚 where he was billeted in Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire. Notts Forest, you know Notts , eh, Mansfield鈥檚 fifteen miles outside of Nottingham City like, you know, and then we went to this terrible place, she had two college boys, about my age or maybe a little older, and they wouldn鈥檛 talk to us, we were rubbish, you know. She used to make us stay outside in the cold, snow, no matter how deep the snow was, we were out in the cold, we had to stand in the doorway of the shed, and we could see inside the living room and you could see that lovely big fire, and they were sitting by the fire, and we were not allowed to go in anytime, not by the fire. My brother come, one of my brothers come along, he said come along, he wasn鈥檛 living with us, but he found us, he come looking for us, see, lets go for a run he said, warm ourselves up, you鈥檒l die standing there he said. So we warmed ourselves up, but you couldn鈥檛 go far because of the snow, you see. Finally I had to go to the newsagent just down the road, and I had to do a round with the papers, you know, delivery. Now that was illegal at nine year old, eh, nine or ten. So anyway, we did it, couldn鈥檛 answer back, so three and six a week, old money, so every day papers, eh, I don鈥檛 know how many customers I had, it seemed a lot, but its no good saying how many because I don鈥檛 know. But anyway, Saturdays I used to take groceries to some of the people who couldn鈥檛 carry it, you know, but that was three and sixpence a week, and I had to give her the money, she never gave me any pocket money, ever, never had money in our pockets. Anyway, I remember one year, because I can鈥檛 remember it all, see, they say I had a nice voice, even though I didn鈥檛 know the carols, I knew bits of them, and I had a lovely voice, I was told, and I used to sing these carols, and with my tips from my paper round, and my carol money, I had a nice bit, I don鈥檛 know how much it was, I couldn鈥檛 reckon or spell or anything like that, she took the lot. But, I was crafty, I didn鈥檛 tell her, I kept a ten-shilling note. They had notes in those days, ten shillings, and I kept that, which wasn鈥檛 stealing, it was mine, eh, even if it was stealing, I鈥檇 own up to it. At the end of the street they had a barrier, to stop the cars coming in that way, see, they just had an opening, two barriers, they were walls in them days, and at the bottom of the wall, there was nobody about, there was a bit of a hole at the bottom, so what I did, I wrapped up the ten-bob note, I shoved it in and I put a little stone in to block it off, no-one ever looked, you see. One day I said to my brother 鈥淐or I鈥檓 bloney starving, Fred鈥�. He says 鈥淪o鈥檓 I鈥�. I says 鈥滺ang on a minute, I鈥檝e got a ten-bob note over there.鈥� I went and had a look, it was still there, so we went and bought this apple tart between us. We thought it was marvellous to have something nice to eat, you know.
I remember one day I went to one old lady, she lived right at the end of my round, right at the end of the lane, I went there one day, after the war, to look them up. I told you, I went there, and she wasn鈥檛 in. Anyway, I went back on the way back into the city, into Mansfield, Mansfield town, and I got to the last customer, and she was an old lady, who was there, and I was a little boy, she said 鈥渃ome in, son鈥� and I went into the house, she said 鈥淚鈥檝e got a little Christmas Box for you, 鈥� and I walked in, and I鈥檝e never seen nothing like it, the table was full of cakes, and everything, she says 鈥淪it down, and eat until you bust鈥�. And I did, I ate and I ate, but I couldn鈥檛 clear it all, eh, If I鈥檇 some more kids with me, yes. And when I went back I went to look that old lady up, but I didn鈥檛 realize shed gone, she鈥檇 died over those few years, only a few years between 1945 and the 50s I went back, you see it was too late,

And other times, at the back of our gardens, they had the Army Service Corps, Royal Army Service Corps drivers, and they had their mess hall in the back, like, you know, and all their lorries was around the field, right around the field, you know, and they knew what we were going through, and they used to get some currants, and sultanas, and all that, and mix it up, and they used to put it in a big brown paper or something and stick it on top of the swill bin. Now we knew what it was for, and we used to get that out and we used to eat it between us and we used to enjoy it. The only little luxuries we ever had, and of course we told our father about it, and he wouldn鈥檛 believe us, he said we were lying, Frank, he said and [Ann] are smashing people. Anyway we said no more because we couldn鈥檛 argue with my father because he was a bully in any case, so we couldn鈥檛 do nothing about it. But one day, he shifted me, and Fred. Fred, my eldest brother, moved to another place in Mansfield, and they were nice people, so he was made.

There鈥檚 other things I could have told you, but, you know, its not easy to try and make a story, because when you鈥檙e talking you remember bits after you鈥檙e talking that you could have put in, like I had a loaf one day when I was in Mansfield, you know, a policeman said 鈥淲hat are you going to do with that, son?鈥� I said 鈥淓at it, I鈥檓 blony hungry鈥�, and he had to laugh, you know.

Pat Harper

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