大象传媒

鈥淭his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Anita Howard from Essex CSV Action Desk on behalf of Mary Whirledge and has been added to the site with her permission. Mary Whirledge fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions鈥�

War broke out when I was three. I lived in a village near Carmarthen in Wales. My father was a bank manager and was also in charge of the local Home Guard !
My first memory is when we were issued with a gas mask. We had to take it everywhere. It was a sore point that some children were issued with Mickey Mouse masks but not me!
My mother made black curtains for every room to keep the light from shining out at night. She was good at managing to make reasonable meals out of very little. We loved sweets but they were difficult to get. She made some from dried milk powder flavoured with peppermint essence.
Most exciting was the arrival of evacuees from East London. Suddenly our village was full of extra playmates. They were taken to the village hall where the vicar鈥檚 wife placed them in local billets. Many found themselves on farms; it must have been a culture shock for them. We shared our house with the headmaster and his wife.
The evacuees had their own school in a converted hall. In general they appeared happy but there were occasions like bed wetting, bugs and nits which caused problems and also payment delays for their upkeep.
Out side the village was a big camp of Nissen huts occupied by the American forces. We begged chocolate and gum from them and they were very generous.
When the Americans left the camp they were replaced by Italian prisoners of war sent to work on the farms. They wore forbidding dark brown clothes with a large circle on their backs. Their black hair and olive skins terrified me although they tried to be friendly with us children.
After them came the German prisoners of war who were very hard workers so they were more easily accepted.
I remember having oranges, a very rare treat which I assumed were given to me personally from the government minister responsible.
My father was a great admirer of Churchill. When he broadcast on the wireless, everything stopped. How he inspired us. A tinker family lived near us and an old gypsy stood outside our window listening to the news.
I also remember listening to Lord Haw Haw on the radio. He sounded so English but he was a traitor.

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