大象传媒

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When I was ten years old I was with a friend one Sunday morning. We were at her Aunties house in Woodville when on the wireless Mr Chamberlain suddenly announced that we were now at war with Germany. I had heard about this nasty man named Hitler, who had invaded other countries. So I wanted to get home as fast as I could in case they came to Swadlincote. All families were given ration books, clothing coupons and gas masks (which you had to carry everywhere). Air raid shelters were also built. Everyone had to have black-out curtains. No lights were to be seen anywhere.

We had a pantry under the stairs. Mum and Dad put some bedding down and when the sirens went we stopped in the pantry under the stairs. There were three children, and Mother down there. My father was outside as a Fire Warden. We were there when the Germans dropped a landmine on a row of five houses at Gresley, killing friends of ours only about a 录 mile away. Then they dropped another landmine on the other side of our house at Wraggs pipe yard. It blew rail trucks filled with clay a long way. All the children went looking for shrapnel as it was on the way to school.

When the air raids were very bad at Coventry and Birmingham our parents said it lit the sky up at night. At thirteen children were allowed time off school for potato picking, gooseberry and pea picking. With my first weeks wage from potato picking mother let me buy my first pair of kid gloves, but I lost them when I was seventeen. I went to the pictures and put them on my knee. When I stood up at the end I had forgotten about them. I went back but no-one had handed them in. I felt as if I had lost the crown jewels. At fourteen, in 1943, I worked in a grocery shop, so I had to weigh and pack everything. This included sugar, biscuits, dried fruit, peas and oatmeal.

I met my husband when he was in the Army. After three years courting Tom we married when I was twenty, in 1949. A lot of things were still rationed. We had only enough clothing coupons for the material for the two bridesmaids. I borrowed my brides dress. Tom had his demob suit. We had a son and daughter. Now we have three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

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