大象传媒

This story has been added to the People's War website by Anne Wareing of the Lancashire Home Guard on behalf of Patricia Entwistle, the story is in her own words...

War was declared at 11.00 on September 3rd, 1939. An atmosphere of sad inevitability was everywhere around. Neville Chamberlain, the prime minister announced, in a solemn voice on the radio, (there was no television) that as Germany had not agreed to refrain from further aggrandisement by the stipulated time and had invaded Poland he had no alternative but to announce that we were at war with Germany. We had no idea what that meant. Were we in imminent danger from invasion? Would there be air raids? Were there spies ready to listen to our careless talk? There was a poster "Careless talk costs lives." In fact nothing very much seemed to happen on the home front. We had to make sure that no chink of light could be seen from windows and doors. There was a scurry to buy black material to line curtains and to make screens that would completely cover windows. Elaborate measures were taken to avoid light escaping as the front door was opened. Eric became an air raid warden, a voluntary evening occupation to make sure that conditions in our locality were observed. He would venture out, dressed in navy blue duffle coat for camouflage, armed with a torch for guidance and arm band for identification to meet Donald Roberts along the road and set off on their task. He was issued with a stirrup pump for dealing with incendiary bombs but never had occasion to use it. Everyone was advised to create an air raid shelter if a public one was not within easy access. Our downstairs toilet was converted by filling in the window with substantial books that would withstand blast from bombs. Eric constructed two bunks. I seem to have a vague memory of going there one night but there was never any real need.

Ration books were issued. I can't remember how soon after the beginning of the war. Imagination and initiative had to be used to make the most of the meagre supplies. Three families got together to augment food supplies by keeping hens. We didn't have the hens in our garden but we took our turn in looking after them. This involved boiling potato peelings and other scraps in a large pan. The smell pervaded the house. However we certainly did not suffer and probably our diet was better than that in the post war years when sugar and butter became attractive commodities.

Petrol was in short supply. It was only available to essential users such as doctors. Clothes were rationed. My school gym slip was remade into a skirt when I left school and went to university. Furniture was on dockets.
At the time we accepted everything as normal. We didn't feel deprived. As far as we knew this was what life was all about
A family of mother and children were billeted on us as part of an evacuation scheme to move people away from inner city areas of Manchester. They didn't stay long. They didn't like the trees. They felt uncomfortable in a completely different milieu and soon returned to their familiar habitat.

The war did not impinge much until Christmas 1940. That was the date of the blitz on Manchester. It was a night of devastation. We were too far away to be affected by it personally except that we rescued a very frightened Grandmother and Grandfather from their house. They had been much nearer the onslaught Their house was not damaged but it had been a nasty experience for them. Peggy, living in Didsbury, had had an even more scary time. David had been born a week or two earlier. Peggy and Mike packed him snugly in an empty apple box, labelled carefully in case he was the only survivor and placed him under the dining room table as being the safest place in the house. That was the only time that Manchester suffered but other cities were repeatedly attacked. The rebuilt Coventry cathedral is a moving tribute to survival, faith and belief in a future. The air raid warning signals were clear: a wailing sound to warn of an imininent raid, a continuous sound on one note to indicate all clear.
As a result of the total blackout the night sky was beautifully clear. I remember a walk along the country lanes under a brilliant starlit sky.

One or two of the big houses nearby were commandeered by the American army. They could be seen practising their marching along the road. The Congregational church put on occasional socials. Those well- built soldiers in well cut, good quality uniforms, with large mouths full of evenly spaced teeth provided a welcome source of enlivenment to the company.
English soldiers were also billeted nearby. Their uniforms were not nearly as distinguished looking. We were encouraged to offer them some home comforts. We had several who enjoyed a hot bath and a change from the rigours of army life. One of them spent ages each time he came polishing his boots. They were grateful for a taste of civilian life.
During the war all the parachutists were trained at Ringway airport (now Manchester airport). We took quite a proprietorial interest in their escapades over the continent.

As the war went on Italian prisoners began to arrive to work on the farms. They were billeted on the road between Altrincham and Rostherne. They didn't seem to be guarded and there never seemed to be any thought of their trying to escape.

The B.B.C. decided to mark the presence of our allies by playing their national anthems before the 6. o'clock news on Sunday evenings. As more countries joined the Allies more and more national anthems were played. It emphasised the cooperation and togetherness in the struggle and was a means of expressing our gratitude for their help in desperate times. Emotion and patriotism were important components in winning the war.

As I write this and more memories come back I realise yet again that those war years were filled with life's events just as any era is. That was the life we knew and we accepted it as ordinary. We learnt too that death is part of life. By the end of the war the three boys of my childhood had all been killed.

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