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This story was added to the website by Lucy Glynn, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Leeds volunteer on behalf of the contributor with their permission.

There were two bombs; one at the top of the hill where we lived and the other was at the other side of the town. We had an air raid shelter in the garden, called an Anderson shelter. When we had the outside shelter, my mother took candles and night lights to light it up. I was two years old when the war started. With my mother taking me out in the cold to the shelter, I caught asthma and bronchitis. So with hospital and doctors’ notes, we managed to get an air raid shelter indoors. It was a table top in the middle of the room called a Morrison shelter. As soon as the siren went, we used to go underneath. It covered the biggest part of the room. My mother put a velvety cloth on top and we used to eat on it.

Air raids were scary at first but then you just got used to it and slept. My mother used to make a flask and have a drink. We had very heavy curtains on the windows and dark blinds. My father was in the ARP (Air Raid Patrol). He used to go out at night.

Once, I had to go to Bristol to hospital for my asthma. We went on the train and the trains were packed with soldiers and servicemen. They were so packed you had a job to get a seat.

We had rationing and everything. Of course, I never knew what a banana was until after the war.

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