大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Anne Wareing on behalf of Violet Halkes and has been added to the site with her permission鈥�

Wartime - As a young schoolgirl I thought, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening?鈥� soon we were sticking brown paper strips on the windows. My mother bought thick black material for 鈥榖lack-out鈥� curtains and was busy sewing them up on her Singer sewing machine with me turning the handle to help her.
I remember when the evacuees arrived from Kent. They spoke with a different accent to us, but we all got on when some came to our school.
The army set up a 鈥榮earchlight鈥� station; there were lorries and lots of equipment going back and forth, much to the delight of the children. We had never seen vehicles like this in our small valley.

Air raid warnings - When the night sirens went my family with gas masks and warm clothing went to the cellar of a nearby pub. When we were at school we ran home or stayed with a friend living nearer the school.
A bomb dropped at the top of the main shopping street one night. Quite a heavy bomb and the blast caused shop windows to crack and some fell out. It fell near a small school, luckily it was night time and no one was killed.
There were Home Guards, aeroplane spotters and firewatchers, all doing a good job.

Food rationing 鈥� Queues. I was often sent to stand in a queue for some item of food that had just been delivered to the local shop. I rather enjoyed dried egg.

Clothes rationing 鈥� make do and mend. I unpicked a faded coat seams and made a lovely pinafore dress from the back and front of it; turning the inside to the outside. I was very proud of that. Also I unpicked jumpers and cardigans, saving the best wool, washing it and re-knitting a mixed colour 鈥榥ew鈥� jumper.

Well they say our diet in spite of the rationing was a good one, no 鈥榡unk food鈥� and I鈥檓 pleased to say I鈥檝e lived to a good age.

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