大象传媒

I was 5 at the outbreak of war and living in Gorleston with my parents and two sisters. I suppose my mother was somewhat nervous at living so close to a vulnerable port, Lowestoft, so my parents decided to decamp almost overnight, and we beat a retreat to the village of Blundeston some six weeks into the outbreak of hostilities.

We children were thrilled to find that we were to live in a genuine gypsy caravan parked in a meadow opposite the village pub, 鈥淭he Plough鈥�. My elder sister and I slept in a shed that was decorated and parked behind the caravan and my younger sister and parents slept in the van. The very first night an irate man knocked on the door and complained that we were showing a light. Although only a meagre Tilly Lamp, it brought home to my parents that it was serious.

Two months later we moved to the house that was to become our home for the duration of the war and was the start of a memorable period of my childhood. My older sister and I started school right away, and walked the one and a half miles twice a day. We took a packed lunch (paste sandwiches, an apple, and best of all a small rice pudding that mother made and baked overnight in the Dutch oven in the kitchen.)

School was two large classrooms and catered for children from 5 to 14. Fourteen was the school leaving age at that time and the village children left then to work on the land mostly until they passed an exam called 鈥淭he Scholarship鈥� and went to the Grammar school at Lowestoft.

I remember the years there with great fondness. At no time did I ever feel afraid again, in spite of constant air raids, and getting underneath the heavy oak table of a regular basis when planes came over. To me it was just an exciting adventure, much influenced by my father who was in a reserved occupation, and always optimistic that 鈥渆verything would be alright.鈥�

The whole village became very close and there was much knitting of scarves and balaclava helmets, and many fundraising concerts in aid of the 鈥渨ar effort鈥�. We managed to produce quite a lot of our own food; we had a number of chickens, and we grew our own fruit and vegetables, but feeding a growing (very rapidly in my case) family must have been a nightmare. Our walk to school took us through various fields growing sundry crops, from swedes, turnips, sugar beet, to wheat and barley etc. Because I was quite often hungry, it was a very useful supplement to my diet. The root vegetables were quickly pulled, the earth rubbed off on my navy blue knickers; then after I had eaten my fill the rest was stored up my knicker leg for future use!

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