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This story was submitted to the People’ War by a volunteer from The Chepstow Society on behalf of Mavis Bryant and has been added to the site with her permission. Mavis Bryant fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Home Life

Yes I did have an evacuee, a girl Gladys I can’t think of her other name now,. she was from Folkestone. Miss Hutchings used to be the ladies maid up at Cae Pwcella and they organised it. I said I would have one from her if she was good looking. We had her about 9 months I expect. They brought her here, she didn’t have very many clothes. She was all right you know, but she didn’t seem to worry about things, I suppose they were used to it see. She was a lovely looking girl but she was a bit naughty, you know she’d do her things how she, like when the air raid went, you get up you know; she wouldn’t get up. But of course that’s how they were you see wasn’t they in Folkestone? she didn’t bother about it. I was going to have another baby and I wasn’t going to cope with that so they found somewhere else for her. They used to be all friendly together, there were several around here you know they would come and have tea all here together.

You had to make meals, you had to really make meals. We’d get a marrow and stuff a marrow and things like that, you could do without meat then look. yes, we used to keep some chickens so we had eggs, and we had chicken if we wanted it, and we had a pig. I’ve been known to keep the cream off the milk and make a little bit of butter. We didn’t have milk to the house, when Bob Richards took it we used to have to go down by Webbs, they used to put it in the hedge. It would be in any old bottle we weren’t so fussy as they are today, a beer bottle or cider bottle.

Stockings, they were a luxury you’d give the world for a pair of stockings.

At night when they used to come over I used to look through the window and you could see them in the search light. (then living below the anti aircraft site at Mynyddbach) And when that happened you thought you’ll have to get down because once they get in the beam of the searchlight that was when they would release their bombs you see

They used to have them in the Institute up the village (Shirenewton) Because there used to be soldiers up at the Mynders they used to come down to go to dances. We used to have a good time and all that, then when the planes went overhead you’d be home soon in no time.

The Town

We used to go to dances in what is now the Senior Citizens, used to be the Public Hall. All sorts of bands they had and they used to have the finals in there, the Hospital finals dance competition. There was a couple from Monmouth used to come to demonstrate dancing, Mr & Mrs Porter their names was, they used to come and they’d give a demonstration and she used to look lovely really. They used to demonstrate things like the Belita and the Charleston. Eddie Jenkins he used to live in Newchurch, he was one that used to be in the finals in there. Mrs Wheeler that used to be at the Post Office, her and Bill Bailey used to go in and win, yes. Some of the dances you went to it would be all soldiers.

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