大象传媒

I was born on the 1st July 1939 so I was a pre war baby. I have recollections of the war although I was only a very young child during this time and that my story is of some interest to you.
During my early childhood I lived at 7 Railway Terrace Landore, Swansea with my parents. I was an only child during this period.
Facing our house was a railway line and the trains were then stopping at Landore Low Lever, the next stop being Swansea High Street. I can remember these trains being full of soldiers, sailors and airmen. My mother had four brothers and they all saw active service during the war. Two of her brothers were sailors and two were soldiers. Mercifully they all came home safely from the war having been in the thick of the fighting, in the Gulf and the Desert. One of my uncles drove a Tank during the D Day landings and he saw many of his friends killed in battle. Another of my uncles, a sailor, was on the ship that brought the King of Norway out of Norway to Britain. My uncles told me that he saw many of his mates from other ships, fighting for their lives in the water having being torpedoed by the German U boats, but they could not stop to pick them up as the King was on board their ship. My uncle used to get visibly upset about this when telling us about it. He was also a bodyguard to King Farouk and Princess Feisel of Egypt and we saw the photographs of him standing guard over the King. Yes indeed all four of them like many others saw the most dreadful things taking place. My Grandmother, the mother of these four sons died at the age of 59 years, she just gave up when her youngest son went to war and she did not want to live. She died of a broken heart but her sons all came home safe and well but she did not live to see it.
During my early life in Landore I can vaguely remember the three days blitz. Because we lived some 200 yards from the Copper Works and not too far from the Docks we were really a sitting target for the German planes. The houses opposite my Grandmother鈥檚 house (my father鈥檚 mother and the family home) were bombed and people were killed, neighbours of my family of course. However, my Grandmother鈥檚 house was not destroyed but the blast from the bombs smashed the beautiful china she had in her front room. It consisted of a dinner service and tea service, which was my Grandmother鈥檚 pride and joy, but they were smashed to pieces by the blast. Also she had in her front room a chest of drawers upon which stood two beautiful chandeliers made of sparkling crystal. I can remember as a small child watching the sun shining on these chandeliers and the most beautiful twinkling colours would be dancing on the walls etc, sadly these were also broken.
In my home I can remember a steel table in my mother鈥檚 kitchen which was some sort of a shelter from the bombs, and here my friend from next door a boy called John, would play and we would be watching my father making a fort for John, lead soldiers, a spitfire plane. He made me a dolls house, a cot and a beautiful car. My father got the wheels off an old pram for the car and the bodywork he constructed himself and he painted it blue. Whenever I took that car outside to ride it all the kids would pile on it as I was the only child to have a car, you could not buy toys then, but I was lucky I had a very clever father, he not only made toys for me but for all the kids in the terrace. My father did not go to war himself he failed his medical on health grounds, he worked in the Steelworks all of his working life.
A further memory I have is that one day I was sitting on the edge of the pavement watching this huge van unloading furniture into the Landore Cinema, or the 鈥淟andore Bug鈥� as it was known locally, when this lady came up to me whose furniture it was that was being stored and she gave me a beautiful china doll. This lady was obviously much better off than we were. I was so excited and I ran around the corner to show the doll to my mother. Unknown to me my mother was expecting a baby, and she put on my doll one of the gowns she had bought for the baby. I still remember the feeling of pride and excitement I had over that doll, and again I was the only one in the terrace who had a china doll. I was just lucky I guess. It was 1944 then and my sister was born in the November. I can remember my father had been into Swansea to buy a glass light shade and he brought the shade home in a box that had straw in it and this is where I placed my precious doll.
When my mother鈥檚 brothers would come home on leave they would get off the train at Landore Low Level and come to my mother鈥檚 house. They would be knocking us up at all hours of the night and there would be great excitement in our home. If my father was not on night shift he would be lighting the fire and my mother would say to me, who would be fully awake with all the excitement, 鈥渨e will have a Tan now Merch鈥�, my Mum was Welsh speaking.
When my uncles would be going back off leave, my mother and I would be watching the train passing from the front bedroom window of our house, where my mother and I would be waiving to which ever uncle it would be until the train would go out of sight. When the train had gone my mother would sit on the bed and cry, I never understood then why she was crying, as I was too young. Another recollection I have is of my uncle Ivor going back and I believe he was going back for the Normandy landings. My mother, father and I went to the Landore Low Level Station to see him off and I sat in the carriage with my Uncle, again it was full of troops going back to war. I remember the name of the engine was Matilda and my uncle started singing Waltzing Matilda and my mother was crying bitterly on the platform. I was very young but I have a very clear recollection of this, again I could not understand why my Mum was crying all I could feel was the excitement of being there and sitting in the carriage with my uncle.
One further point I would like to mention is of my father taking me up to Morriston Park where the American soldiers were billeted. I can remember this very large black soldier coming up to my father and started speaking to him and I will always remember his words. He asked 鈥� Is dat your little girl, about four, hm hm, very cute鈥� I was about four and I suppose cute as I had auburn coloured curly hair and small in stature, maybe was thinking about his own family back in the States. I still think about that Soldier and wonder if he ever made it back home and survived the war.
Finally, I remember the victory party, the pretty lights that my father had painted and strung them from house to house, the tables and chairs all outside and the music playing and everybody was happy and having a great time.
What I hated about the war was the Mickey Mouse gas masks, the air raid shelters and the dreaded siren when the German planes would be coming over. Other than that my recollections of the war is not one of misery and grief as it was for many people as I was far too young and I was sheltered from the misery by my parents as much as they could. I suppose that is one of the blessings of childhood.
It is a story of the war memories of a very young child.

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