大象传媒

I went to Ilford High School (now called Ilford Grammar School) after I gained a scholarship there, till the age of 16, when we were evacuated. I was not happy with the new circumstances, so returned home to Ilford, Essex, after a couple of months and stayed in my father鈥檚 office, till I got a job at Norridge Insurance Brokers. I dealt with the marine policies there, but had to meet through underwriters, as I was not allowed to meet with lawyers. The offices, situated at St Katherine鈥檚 Dock, were heavily bombed on the 12th May 1941 鈥� many parts of London were then damaged, including the Houses of Parliament. We had to do our work by candlelight for weeks afterwards, as no gas, water or electricity was available. Much was destroyed in the bombing, but the insurance policies remained intact thanks to steel covers.
Travel during the war was unpredictable 鈥� trains were often late or didn鈥檛 come at all, and buses were targeted by 鈥檇oodlebugs鈥� from 1944, vicious bombs which struck with little warning 鈥� the only warning was the sound of an engine peetering out moments before it struck.
Food and clothes were heavily rationed 鈥� clothing coupons were much in demand, and we tried to get our hands on them wherever we could. We were encouraged by slogans such as 鈥橠ig for Victory鈥� to grow our own food. My father had his own allotment where he grew carrots, cabbages, and other vegetables 鈥� all needed to feed our family of five. Lord Woolton, the Minister of Food, encouraged everyone to make do with what they had 鈥� there was even a pie named after him. We were healthier thanks to the rationing though, especially thanks to the lack of junk food. There was a doctor on the radio every day, who used to talk about bowels. Despite the rationing, there weren鈥檛 many official restrictions during the war 鈥� or perhaps I just ignored most of them!
Air raids ruled our lives during much of the war 鈥� in the Tube stations, people used to sleep in the tunnels in the hope that it would be safer. Unfortunately, they suffered heavy losses. We had a terrific community spirit, which I find the most memorable thing about the war. We used to sing in the shelters 鈥� songs like 鈥漅un rabbit鈥� and 鈥漎ou鈥檒l be so nice to come home to鈥� 鈥� a very romantic song, which brought tears to many people鈥檚 eyes. We had to make our own entertainment much of the time 鈥� in London, most cinemas were closed down due to fear of bombing.
I met my first husband, John, through work. He went to aircraft training to train as a pilot, but had to stop due to high blood pressure. He became a navigator and went to South Africa and nearby areas before returning home. When he came home in 1945, we looked around a London, and saw a poster announcing that a bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. He said 鈥漎ou know what that means?鈥�. I said 鈥漀o,鈥�, and he replied with 鈥滻 won鈥檛 be going over there now.鈥� 鈥� he had been due to ship out to the Far East in the next couple of months. He later went to India, and was sent to Bombay. The people there were starving and very poor, so my husband used to hand out food to the villagers as he went through India. Meanwhile, I met up with John鈥檚 father every Sunday in London 鈥� probably so he could keep an eye on me! We were married in 1947.
I had a penfriend in Germany throughout the war. Her letters had to be translated by my brother, as I was poor with my German. She was Jewish, and her name was Johanna Schmidt. Her mail was heavily restricted, however 鈥� Germany was very strict. Her mother once said she sent me milk and cookies with her letter, but there was no sign of them! We lost contact 鈥� I do not know what happened to her. Two German Jewish girls came to my school, also.
At the end of the war, there was a great deal of celebration. There were parties all over London, and many streets were closed off. There were two celebrations 鈥� one in May 1945, when we won, and the other in August, when the Japanese surrendered. There was much rejoicing, as soldiers returned home, but also much grief for those that didn鈥檛.

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