- Contributed by听
- nottinghamcsv
- People in story:听
- Mr Ashby
- Location of story:听
- Ilkeston
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A4625679
- Contributed on:听
- 30 July 2005
This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/大象传媒 Radio Nottingham on behalf of Mr Ashby with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.
My father used to ride on his bike a lot during the war. He used to go to London flower shows, and flower shows in Shrewsbury.
A little bit of a naughty memory from the war years....Before and during the war, car doors used to open towards the front. So when ladies got out of the car...you can imagine!!! Catching sight of nylon stockings was very exciting!!!
Barton buses for a while during the war, used to have a green bag on the top of the bus. It was called a 'gas bag'. I am not sure exactly what it was for, but I assume that it was there to supplement the petrol.
Another memory is of the 'smog' which was a mixture of smoke and fog. Everyone used to have coal fires, you see. Coming home one night from Stanton on my push-bike, where I used to work as an apprentice fitter from 1942, I got stuck in the smog. I used to live about 2miles away from Stanton. The smog was that thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. As I got to the bottom of Corporation Road, there was an island in the road, with a little hedge in the centre. I felt a bump and thought I'd hit a little stone, I suddenly found myself riding through a hedge!!! It took about 10minutes to find my way out again! I also used to cross over the main Nottingham Road on my way. When you crossed the road, the street sign for Robert Street was about waist height. The fog used to get that thick that you didn't know where you were and so had to feel the sign and the lettering on it to know where you were!!
In fact, the bus conductors used to wave a white hankercheif in front of the bus. The main Derby to Ilkeston buses were 'Felix'. In thick fog, these buses used to follow the car in front. On one occasion, the bus followed a car in front and consequently ended up in a farmyard!!!
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