大象传媒

I was three years and one month when war started, so my memories are 鈥檅itty鈥� and sometimes inaccurate, e.g. Cornwall being utterly safe, with no bombings! To me, Cornwall was 鈥楽afety鈥� - London was 鈥楧anger鈥� therefore, my memories are just that, - not a story.

Andersen Shelters

People with space outside their homes would have curved roof, corrugated iron shelters, half buried in their gardens. My mother, being a keen gardener, made a rock garden over the top to fool the German bombers, officially, but I suspect because she didn鈥檛 want to have any unproductive space in her precious garden. These shelters soon became damp, dark, and scary, so we soon ceased to use it and went back to hiding under the substantial kitchen table, or under the stairs, when we heard the awful wailing of the air-raid siren. What a hateful sound! The 鈥橝ll clear鈥� siren was a welcome sound. I don鈥檛 remember the noise of bombings or being afraid, but letters from my mother to my father,(stationed at R.A.F. St. Mawgan),reveal her terror for me and, later, for my next sister.

Bombings

If the air-raid siren went when we were all out, we would rush to the nearest public shelter in Streatham, London where I lived, or would go down into an underground station. (I never slept in one, though thousands did, ( not always as safely as they expected, in some cases, sadly.) On one occasion, Mummy and I returned from a shopping trip in Streatham, to find half the road covered in rubble, bodies and bits of bodies ( our neighbours). Nearly opposite our house, three houses were just rubble. Our house had windows blown in and minor damage from blast. I have no memory of any of this, but my mother must have reacted to such a horrific scene. Is this why I can鈥檛 stand seeing dead animal, or insect bodies now , I wonder? The live ones are fine!!
As far as I remember, no bombings or air raids, took place in Cornwall, so sirens and shelters had no existence there- or did they?!

Search Lights

These bright fingers of light criss-crossed the skies in London at night in London, but not in Cornwall in my memory. I didn鈥檛 realise they were used to pin鈥攑oint enemy planes! Either my memories have blanked out Cornish search lights, or they weren鈥檛 used. I suspect the former!!

Barrage Balloons

Barrage Balloons were floated over large, open spaces in London, tethered to the ground by ropes. They were to stop planes landing I believe. I loved to see these huge, fish-shaped balloons.

Blackout

Our homes had blackout 鈥� black curtains over every window. Woe betide anyone who dared to show even a chink of light at night. Room interiors looked depressing when these curtains were closed. Streets had no lights in London 鈥� all to hide the city, and its suburbs, from bombers, I now know. Again, I don鈥檛 remember blackout in Cornwall!

Food

Food shortages were many, so we were rationed but not hungry, with ration books of coupons for many foods and materials. Of course, these books were mainly for the pleasure of us children, as far as I knew! When 鈥渙ld鈥� we played 鈥榮hops鈥� with the many coupons still unused 鈥� (due to scarcity of food, or perhaps lack of money?)

Queues were long outside the butcher鈥檚 when he had a meat delivery. If lucky, we would get something, but only what he gave us, not what we asked for. Each London family had to shop at a specified butcher鈥檚 I now know. I expect butchers were extremely popular people 鈥� cupboard love indeed!.

Sugar was limited, so we used golden syrup, or sweet condensed milk. Dried egg power (pure egg) came in from America. I loved it, many didn鈥檛! Bananas and oranges were rare treats. Sweets were rationed, but we could get them easily 鈥� until they came off ration in the early 1950s, when panic buying cleared a shop in hours!

It was expected that vegetables would be grown in gardens 鈥� not flowers. Firms such as McDougalls Flour Company produced recipe books, with very limited ingredients 鈥� some people still use such recipes now! (2005)

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