大象传媒

My school days as an 11-13 year old. Due to many air raids on Hull, and because of five children in our family, my father rented a small terraced house in New Holland, just across the Humber, in the hope that it would be safer. For a time my younger brother and I attended the village school, three classrooms, seven classes and three teachers!

Eventually Michael passed the Hymers entrance exam and I passed the scholarship exam to Estcourt Street High School. This meant travelling to Hull daily on the ferry. It entailed a mile walk to the pier, and the ferry crossing, which would take between 20 to 45 minutes according to the state of the tide. There are sand banks in the Humber which made a direct crossing impossible when the tide was very low. After that I walked to the Guildhall where I caught the 45 bus to Flenton Grove School as by then, Estcourt High had been burnt down. When Flenton Grove was partially destroyed Estcourt was moved to the Charter House, on Wincolmlee. This was closer for me.

Some days we had gale force winds and I found the ferry crossing very frightening. On foggy days it didn鈥檛 sail (Hurrah!). No radar then. The businessmen would pay ferry men to take them across the river in a motor boat for ten shillings, a lot in those days. At other times mines had been dropped in the Humber and they had to be cleared before the ferry was able to sail. The adults would then catch the train and go round to Hull by Doncaster.

One night I missed the last boat and had to stay with a teacher. I was with her for a week due to mines in the Humber. I was 12 years old.

I would often see buildings, and occasionally whole streets, demolished as I rode to school on the 45 bus.

The house my father rented was small and very basic. Six of us slept in the downstairs front room, three to a bed. My father had a bed upstairs. I can鈥檛 imagine where our clothing etc was housed. It didn鈥檛 seem a problem to us children. It鈥檚 incredible to look back and compare this to today鈥檚 standard of living. I must say we were glad to move back to our house on James Reckitt Avenue towards the latter part of the war and live a more civilised existence.

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