大象传媒

Spam corner was the name given to the bus stop at the entrance to Frenchay Hospital, near Bristol, when it was occupied by American Servicemen. The American patients would sit in their maroon and blue velvet dressing gowns, on the grassy bank in front of the hospital and young ladies would parade up and down the road, in very short skirts and very high heels hoping to catch the eye of an American. If you were travelling on the bus to Frenchay, the conductor would shout 'Spam Corner' and the daily exodus of young ladies would alight to begin their promenade.

My family lived opposite the hospital and my parents befriended many of the Americans. I was 8 years old at the time, and had scarlet fever and was confined to the bedroom for many weeks, looking forlornly out of the window. Soon packages of candy, chewing gum, fruit sweets - which was something like Polos only square - and even cigars, arrived for the little girl who was poorly. We kept in touch with many of the Servicemen and I wrote to one American soldier and his family for over 60 years until he died at the age of 82. Just before he died he sent me a photocopy of my first letter to him when I was 9. I still have this letter.

Family Life
My brother, sister and I were not evacuated as we lived in the country. We had an underground shelter with bunk beds inside. At the sound of the siren we would race across the lawn with eiderdowns over our heads. We would watch the planes and see the sky light up with gunfire. Many incendiary bombs fell on our garden. But I cannot remember being really frightened even though an unexploded bomb was retrieved at the end of our garden leaving a huge crater.

However, my brother was frightened on one occasion. He was cycling home from school passing through Filton where there had been a severe air-raid. He arrived home white as a sheet and shaking. My mother asked what was wrong and he said he had just ridden through streets where bodies were lying in the road, following the raid on Filton.

Wherever we were, even if we were in the shelter at the time of a raid, my Father always went into the house, to listen to the 9pm news. He would never miss it.

My Father owned a large market garden and German Prisoners of War came each day, escorted by guards, to work on the garden, harvesting the crops. These prisoners were often invited to our home in the evenings, where they enjoyed a meal and we all played board games and skittles. As with the Americans, they became friends and wrote to us for many years after their return to Germany. Gunter Kruger and Vana were names of two of them.

Land Army Girls also came to work on the land and my brother ending up marrying one of them called Doreen. Professor and Mrs Golla lived not far from us in a large house where they would hold concerts for the Servicemen and women. Betty Driver (of Coronation Street fame) came there to sing as did Doris Hare.

At Kingswood there was a factory which made sage and onion stuffing. My Father was asked if he could supply them with the sage and onions in order that they could continue to make the stuffing. In return he received a large block of lard.

I still live in Frenchay near to 'Spam Corner' but now the bus stop is called 'Frenchay Hospital, First Gate'.

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