大象传媒

"Im a pupil from Prudhoe Community High School, Northumberland, entering J Turner's story onto the website, and they fully understand the website terms and conditions of use"

How old were uou when war broke out?
I was born in 1917 and the war started in 1939, i was 22.

What did you do during the war?
I was an air raid warden, i had to go around the village checking that all windows were blacked out. If the windows weren't blacked out then the person would have been fined by police.

How did you hear the news and where were you?
I was delivering Sunday newspapers when the siren began, we knew that it had started then.

Where you evacuated?
No, it was mostly school children who were evacuated, not seniors.

Did you expect war?
After Germany invaded poland and france we knew that there was going to be a war.

What were your first thoughts when you heard the news?
I think that everyones first thoughts were what could we do to help? And if they could help older people.

What other jobs were there where you lived?
I also worked in a mine, it wasn't a very nice job and i saw people injured. I can remember one woman, she was a 'caller up'she would bang on peoples doors early in the morning to get them up and work in the mine.

What was food rationing like during he war?
We had to make do with what we had, there wasn't much but people managed. I remember powdered egg, it tasted awful.

Are there any memories that are significant to you from the war?
VE Day, that is my best memory, everyone was out in the street, having parties with tables of food. I remember having to run fast, across the road to go to the toilet incase there were horses coming.

Did any of your family fight in WW2?
My elder brother fought in the far east for four years. The rest of the family worked in the mine.

Did you have anderson/air raid shelter?
There was one nearby, under four feet of concrete.

What was it like in the shelter?
It was bare, there was only a plank of wood to sit on.

Do you think that war was justified?
No, no war can be justified, all those people dying because of one man.

What was the mood of the poeple in the village during the war?
The community was brilliant, everybody helped each other. Gardeners grew vegetables for other poeple, it was brilliant, that helped people get through the war.

Who do you think had a harder time during the war?
Children, having to leave their mothers to be evacuated, waving from the trains, it was terrible.

At the time, how did you feel about the germans?
I didnt feel much for the Germans, or the Italians. They wanted to shoot us, you can't feel much for people wanting to do that.

Towards the end of the war did people know that the allies were going to win?
Yes, i think so, people were happier and cheered up by any good news.

How did you feel when victory in Europe was announced?
I felt great, there was a massive celebration. My best memory of the war.

Did anyone think that another world war could break out as WW2 had years after WW1?
Nobody expected there to be but that doesn't mean that there cant be. I hope there is never another World War.

I had a gas mask, which covered my mouth, nose and eyes. It was very sad when people didnt come back, fathers, uncles, brothers cousins.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.