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THIS STORY WAS ADDED WITH MRS FEENEY'S PERMISSION BY CSV VOLUNTEER AT ´óÏó´«Ã½ RADIO BRISTOL

I was born in Nottingham on the 3rd April 1936, my earliest memory of the war was living with my Aunt (Doris Fry ) in Bristol, Aunty Doris was mum’s sister and she lived in Ashgrove Road, Chessels. It was here that my brother was born in September 1940, it was the night of a ‘dog fight’ over Filton. I had to sleep on a mattress under the stairs, which was really a pantry.
It must have been several months later that we moved to Pontllanfraith in South Wales, where my father had to work in munitions factory in the Pentland Hills.
During the war American soldiers were stationed in a very large tented village, and some of my earliest memories were of me and friends walking around G.I camps where we were given sweets and chewing gum. This was a real treat as it was the first time I ever saw a black man, as a majority of US soldiers in the camp were black. I remember it was a well known fact the ‘yanks’ never went short of food. I remember they had a fire in their food tent and because some tins were scorched these were given away to civilians. I remember waiting at the gates for their handouts of tinned fruit, SPAM etc what a treat!
It was here I started school in Blackwood, eventually returning to Bristol when I was about 8 years old and then I went to South St School.

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