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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Helping Marguerite Patten and Entertaining the Troops

by 大象传媒 LONDON CSV ACTION DESK

Contributed by听
大象传媒 LONDON CSV ACTION DESK
People in story:听
Kathleen
Location of story:听
Middlesex
Background to story:听
Civilian
Article ID:听
A7747789
Contributed on:听
13 December 2005

I was 9 years old when the war broke out and was living in Middlesex. I remember sitting in my parent's lounge, with all the neighbours around us, when the air raid warning went. Fortunately, it wasn't a real one. My mother was a War Office Liaison Office up at the Ordinance Depot and when I was 12, I ussed to go up there to meet her. I got to know one or two of the officers there who discovered I could play the piano, so I used to entertain the soldiers. They sang while I played the piano for them.
tiad a gun right outside our house and that used to wake us up terrifically at nights. My mother was in the WVS and if there had been a bombing in the local road, she would be called out when she wasn't at work. I would go with her, even if it was during the night, as she didn't want to leave me behind. I used to help by making tea and suchlike, making a field kitchen for the tea to be made, and helping in all sorts of ways that I possibly could, given that I was still only a child.. I had my own tin helmet, which was provided, with my name on the front of it!
I was very fond of cookery at school and Marguerite Patten used to come round giving demonstrations. I used to go to the Gas Board in Acton and help people there who were demonstrating, and she often used to come there. She was such a sweet person. She never made me feel that I was only a child who didn't know anything and I learnt a lot from her.

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