大象传媒

I remember the sticky brown paper on the windows in case the glass was blown in. For us children it was quite an exciting time as we did not realise the enormity of war. My father joined the A.R.P as a warden and I remember him going out every night with his tn hat on, and his A.R.P arm band and carrying a torch and whistle. Before he left he would upend the settee against a wall so that my mother and I could sleep under neath if the sirens
sounded. Then we had an Anderson shelter erected in the garden, this was great as meand my friends would play on it. My father installed a cupboard in the shelter and mother would save tinned foods and such like so that if need be we could survive.
I remember when the sirens sounded we would run to the shelter and my pal and his mother would join us
and we would be put to sleep on the bunks that were there, the lighting was from parrafin storm lamps
and I would lie there warm and snug listening to my mother and the neighbour talking very quietly, and even now at times I get the same feeling and can still get the smell of the lamps.
Next morning my pals and I would be out searching the nearby area for shrapnel, and going to see where any bombs had dropped.
Other memories are rushing to the local shops with my mother because word had got round that the greengrocer had a small delivery of fresh fruit or fish and we would quue for ages just to get one orange or apple.Every where we went we had to carry our gas masks and this was always something I was upset about becuase my gas mask was just an ordinary one with a large view piece where as my pals was what then was called a Mickey Mouse one as it had two large eye pieces snd a tube that went from the mouth piece to a bag at the side and when wearing it, it looked just like Mickey Mouse. In the garden at the side of the shelter my father made a hen run and then bought two hens "that we named Gert and Daisy after two women that were on the radio" these kept us aupplied with eggs for quite a while, and then when they got to old we had them for our meals.
My father was in the Fleet Air Arm and at one time was stationed at Market Drayton in Shropshire and he was given along weekend pass so my mother and I got the train to spend the weekend with him at Market Drayton staying on a farm. I rmember that we had to change trains at Crewe station and we were struggling along the platform with mother trying to hold on to me and manage the suite case when a couple of sailors jumped of the train one took hold of me and the other got the case and helped us into there carriage it was full of sailors and I had a great time with them playing games and eating there chocolate, we were quite sad when we had to get off and leave them but it was such a wonderful experience.
We had a lovely time with my dad and we stayed longer and each day he would cycle back to his camp and we would spend our time with the farmers wife. One day we had gone with her into Market Drayton to collect some gosslings from the market,whe we heard a gret deal of noise, going to the main street we saw dozens of army vehicles and soldiers in troop carriers comming down the road everybody just stood at the side of the road cheering them it was absolutely great, and it was not till much later that we realised they were heading for the south of England preparing for D Day. Some weeks later when we were at home my pals and I and all the mothers went running outside to see hundreds of planes going over head, all with the white identification marks on them on the way for the great invasion.

It was only much later after the war was over and I was older, that I realised just what great sacrifices my mother made for me, by giving me food that should have been for both of us, but she just wanted to make sure that I did not go short of anything.

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