大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War website by Julia Shuvalova for GMR Actiondesk on behalf of Mr and Mrs Etchells and has been added with their permission. The author is fully aware of the terms and conditions of the site.

My most vivid memories of the Second World War concern the lack of my kinds of enjoyable food and sweets in particular. My 'points' ration only allowed me to obtain sweets on one day each week. I would spend the remainder of the week planning what I would buy the following Sunday. If I chose a Mars bar, I would cut it into pieces so that I could have a piece each day. Or if I bought sweets I would divide them similarly.

I recall very well one day towards the end of the war when I saw my first banana. My only other recollection is of my elder brother collecting 'shrapnel' and of him going to the Abbey Hills where a 'dooglebug' had flattened a row of houses.

My husband, who was then living on Taunton Road near Langham Street in Waterloo and who is two and a half years older than me, recalls that when war was declared, all men around the area, which included veterans of the First World War, decided to dig a trench on Langham Street along the fencing of what was then known as 'Mephams' pen. Of course, it served no useful purpose except that it allowed the 'kids' in the area to play at 'soldiers' more realistically.

Some time afterwards proper air raid shelters were built in Langham Street. At first almost everyone went into the 'shelter' immediately as the sirens sounded. After a while however, many people would just stay in beds at home.

Jim also remembers one of the local confectioners distributing gas masks throughout the area from his van.

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