大象传媒

My very first job to help with the war effort was unpaid. I was four years old and my daddy, as Chief Air Raid Warden, had to distribute gas masks. This wasn鈥檛 as easy as it sounds, everyone鈥檚 head had to be measured and the mask fitted properly, to ensure no gas could break the seal.
After work, daddy tramped the streets, knocking on every door in his patch, trying to persuade people to be fitted. Because the war until then had been 鈥榩honey鈥� they were not interested. He came home dispirited every night, saying. 鈥淚鈥檓 sick of being told where to stick my gasmasks. Anyone would think I was the enemy, when I鈥檓 trying to save lives.鈥�
When news of suspected gas attacks and the wail of air raid warnings began, people panicked.
I watched from an upstairs window as long queues formed outside our house. This went on day and night for 72 hours, as daddy followed the rules and fitted everyone individually.
Mummy moaned. 鈥淛ust throw them a gas mask each and let them fit their own. First they were rude, now they鈥檙e creating havoc at having to wait their turn.鈥�
Daddy insisted it was his responsibility to see that no one died from a badly fitted gas mask. The noisy queue, stretched right around the corner, and impatient people shouting, worried me.
My job was to demonstrate both types of children鈥檚 gas mask. The Mickey Mouse one that I loved. Although looking back it wasn鈥檛 pretty. And an ordinary Junior sized mask.
Children would come into the room in tears. Terrified of covering their faces with hideous, smelly gas masks. I had to calm them down by dancing around the room wearing one, proving it did not cut off your air supply. I had to act as if wearing one was fun.
Even parents wanted reassurance that their children would not suffocate. When the fittings lasted all night, I took catnaps on the floor with my head on a cushion. Still wearing the gas mask.
Daddy would say, 鈥淚f I let my own daughter sleep in one, you can be sure they are safe.鈥� Sometimes people prodded me, to see if I was real, or a dummy. When they found I was very much alive and cross at being woken up, they laughed.
I grew to like the smell of rubber. Later on an extra filter was added.
Elephant style respirators for babies, met with a lot of resistance. Because they needed pumping all the time the baby was inside. They were nicknamed 鈥榗offins.鈥� Because if anything happened to the person pumping, the baby suffocated, so Mothers used them like cots but refused to put the lid on.
I ferried sandwiches to my father, who didn鈥檛 take a break for the first thirty-nine hours. Then, too tired to focus properly, he took a two hour nap. I sat at the top of the stairs, watching as my mother physically pushed people out of the house, slamming and locking the front door. Angry men immediately pounded upon it, which I found frightening, but Mummy was made of sterner stuff. 鈥淪erve them right. They should have let your father fit them days ago.鈥�
When it came to parting with the last Mickey Mouse gas mask, which I wanted for myself, I threw a temper tantrum and cried. I didn鈥檛 want the other child to have it.
She鈥檇 been resisting trying it on, until she saw how much I wanted it. Then, with a triumphant grin, she allowed it to be fitted and ran outside. Her father felt sorry for me, telling daddy. 鈥淵our daughter鈥檚 only tiny, you should have let her keep it as a reward for giving the demonstrations.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe in favoritism, daddy said firmly.鈥� So, much to my eternal regret, I was fitted with an ordinary Junior one.
64 years later, I can still visualize the queues and smell the gas masks. But, it鈥檚 interesting that my first job was so unique.

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