大象传媒

This story was added to the Peoples War site by Ann Reilly from Bracknell Library on behalf of Beryl Chestersand has been added to the site with her permission. Beryl fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was nine at the beginning of the war. I can remember the day the war started. My dad had to cycle three miles to tell a friend who did not have a radio, that war had been declared.

I lived in Macclesfield in Cheshire. We did not see a lot of action but we heard planes flying at night towards Manchester. It was a sinister, throbbing sound. Families around us had evacuees from Manchester staying with them. We met the evacuees at school. In fact my first boyfriend was an evacuee from Manchester.

I went regularly with my mother to the whist drive held in a neighbour鈥檚 house. One week I went by myself as my mother was ill. I was fortunate enough to win the first prize 鈥� two Jaffa oranges. I can remember walking home with the oranges in the moonlight with the frost glistening. They were a present for her.

At Christmas we usually had a party. My mother saved our sweet coupons to buy chocolate. This was hidden on the top of the wardrobe until it was broken up into small squares and placed in bowls around the house. In 1943 my cousin came to stay for Christmas. We played 鈥渟ing, say or pay鈥�. My cousin agreed to sing but only if we turned out the lights. He sang Suvla Bay, a song from the first world war. This was the last time we saw him as he was killed in action at Arnhem in 1944.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.