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This story was submitted to the Peoples War Site by volunteer John C Haywood 大象传媒 Radio Lincolnshire Action Desk on behalf of Mrs Jean Wilson and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Wilson fully understands the site terms and conditions.

I was almost 9 years old when war was declared. Soon there were ration books, clothing coupons, identity cards, gasmasks and the blackout.Our class sizes doubled when we had an influx of evacuees from Leeds, many whom had returned during the 'Phoney War' Father a grocer, was in a reserved occupation. The first ration books had coupons which you cut out for the various foods, and these had to be sorted and counted for the Food Office. This became my job, payment 1/- (5p) per 1000. Later ration books were marked as the appropriate goods were purchased. Each person registered with a grocer, and some people registered at different shops hoping to have more opportunity to get any little extras. We helped with the war effort in various ways. The tennis court was dug up and planted with potatoes, metal was taken to school and weighed and we had Spitfire Warship and salute the soldier weeks.

At Caistor Grammer School in 1941 we had our gasmasks checked satisfactorily in the basement with teargas, but the fumes on our clothes made us cry. Road blocks were built, and at the one on Nettleton Road, mother was stopped as we cycled to see my grandparents at Caistor. My mother had not got her identity card with her so she had to produce it at Market Rasen police station. In our teens if we were a certain height or shoe size, we were allowed extra clothing coupons.
Because of double summer time it was daylight until 11.00 pm. The hum of bombers went on nightly and sometimes we watched 'dogfights'and saw the glow of Hull in flames. We were warned about 'Butterfly Bombs' dropped around Grimsby, the only place they were dropped,they exploded when touched. One frightening incident occurred when a German plane dropped five landmines on the railway line, each one ever nearer. Mother and I, father being on ARP duty every third night, dived for the inner wall to be safe from the blast, and in the morning we saw a big crater in the field across the road from us.
In October 1942 my grandparents were informed that my uncle (35) who was a naval gunner was missing. I subsequently found out he was torpedoed on the SS Jessie Maersk off the coast of Norfolk with the loss of all hands, 16 crew and 4 naval gunners. They were going from London to Blyth. Father's other two brothers in the RAF survived the war.
Hundreds of soldiers were stationed at camps built at Osgodby and Usselby. Mother helped out in the forces canteen at the Methodist Chapel in Union Street. After D-Day the camp was filled with German POW's who did farm or forestry work. For some time Italian prisoners had been billeted in Jameson Bridge Street and were allowed to go to the cinema in the evening. Eventually the war in europe was over and we were informed that the following day would be a public holiday.

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