大象传媒

My wartime memories are fragmented. I expect it is part memories and part discussions over time that have emphasised some and lost other experiences. I remember the announcement of war but at that time it did not make any impact on me. I remember it as a Sunday afternoon but it may not have been. I was 5 years old at the start of hostilities and was a pupil at Wheelwright Lane Infant School. We had to learn how to enter and leave the air raid shelter built in the school grounds. The sounds echoed as we entered the shelter down a long slope and went out up a ladder through a hole in the roof. Paper was in short supply and we were asked to take in old wallpaper to cover our exercise books to preserve them. Mr Ward was Headmaster and he had a Black Sambo on his desk, which would collect a penny when it was placed on his hand and slip it into his laughing mouth. The only record I remember being played when we had lessons in the hall was 鈥淭he Teddy Bear鈥檚 Picnic鈥�. We had dancing lessons in the hall. Coupons were necessary for clothing and shoes and Marjorie and I had our feet measured in Mr Ward鈥檚 office and our foot sizes qualified us for extra coupons, welcomed by mother. We walked to school in all weathers. I missed many lessons as I attended Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital for eye treatment. The smell of surgical spirits reminds me of having the plaster marks removed from my face after having patches stuck on over my left eye. I have waited as long as 9 months for new spectacles. I remember how the ground seemed to be undulating when I walked, through the effect of these new spectacles. After testing at the hospital, mother would take me to Rayners Opticians in Broadgate for the supply of spectacles.

The changes I remember at home were the blackout restrictions. Dad made a large cover to fasten over the kitchen window each night. No light was allowed to show and the warden would knock on your door if a glimmer showed through a crack in the curtains. Blackout started from 1 September 1939. The lights on bicycles had to be shaded so that the beam shone onto the ground. Mother was able to exchange tea for margarine because we did not like strong tea. Mother made jam when she could get enough sugar. Dad grew what vegetables he could in the garden and in his allotment, which was off Parkgate Road. He had a large loganberry plant in the allotment and Mother bottled the loganberries in Kilner jars. We used to cut through the allotment and over a brook on a plank, to visit my uncles, aunts and cousins who lived in Romford Road. Parkgate Road School is now built on the area. Our Welsh relations would let us have soap because with their softer water they did not use so much. If we saw a queue at the Co-operative store on our way home from school, one of us would stay in the queue while the other went home for the ration books. I remember the three of us sharing an apple. Pink and white sugar mice and a few nuts was a treat in our stocking at Christmas.

We were a family of 6, Father, Mother, Raymond, Mavis (me), Marjorie and Maureen. We all had a registration number, starting with dad as QEAP184/1. My registration number was QEAP 184/4. I remember having a Mickey Mouse gas mask, as did Marjorie but Maureen who was born in 1938 had the large type made for babies. The gas masks had a green shiny base and the oval lens misted up when you put it on. The straps dragged on my hair while pulling it over my head. The rubber fitted tightly around my face and had a horrible smell.

The Bablake School boys who were evacuated to Lincoln went by the end of November from Foleshill Railway Station, the main station having been bombed in the 14th November raid. Ray, with that group, was in Lincoln for about three and a half years. His first accommodation was with Mr and Mrs Turner. Mr Turner was a Special Policeman. The marriage ran into difficulties after Ray had been with them about a year. His next accommodation was with two elderly ladies, Mrs Laski and Mrs Spring and they used these formal names with each other. Ray kept in touch with these ladies for many years. Ray鈥檚 friend, Bert, was with him at this time. I remember Ray being at home one Christmas when he had a severe nose bleed. The doctor came and put plugs into his nostrils and he had to stay in bed several days.

I am not sure at this point what date Marjorie and I were evacuated to Wales. I do remember visiting my Aunt Agnes in my grandmother鈥檚 bedroom. She was in bed feeding Margaret who was born on the 26th November 1940 in Wales. As far as I can remember Mother took us to Wales. I don鈥檛 remember Dad being with us. I remember a train being full of servicemen and Maureen being passed into the carriage through an open window, the men calling 鈥減ass her in here Mrs鈥� and Mother passed her to them and then helped Marjorie and me into the full carriage. Corridors were packed and people sat on their cases. Marjorie stayed with our Grandmother in Tonyrefail for about one and a half years. Grandma lived next to the school and Marjorie attended that school with Sylvia, daughter of Aunt Aimee and Uncle Ernie. They also lived in Grandma鈥檚 house. Marjorie taught me to count to twenty in Welsh when she returned home. I had only learned to count to five (pimp) during my time in Wales.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.