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The story was submitted to the People's War site by Vinod Ghadiali of Leicestershire Library Services on behalf of Kathleen Barkes, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Kathleen's story

My name is Kathleen Barkes. I was born September 19th 1913. I am 92 years old and have lived in the area of Leicester all my life. I remember quite clearly how the Second World War affected my life and my family.

Digging for victory

Before the war we had a lovely lawn and George, my husband, dug most of it up and planted it full of vegetables, so when he was called up we had quite a lot to be going on with; it was called 'digging for victory'.

Every moment spent together was precious

George was called up and went for training, I do not remember where now. But he came home for a short leave before being sent to Africa and eventually Italy. During this short spell of leave at home I became pregnant. Michael, my son, was three years old at the time.

People living near the coast were advised to move inland

Living on an island, especially during the War, we had vulnerable coastlines to protect from enemy invasion, so many areas of these coastlines had look out posts, which were manned by soldiers both day and night. My sister living in Dersingham, near to Hun Stanton on the east coat, had to leave her home and come to live with me in Tetuan Road; with her two daughters. One daughter had to go into a munitions factory and the younger daughter joined the Wrens.

Neighbours helping each other

The neighbours were very helpful, and because I was heavily pregnant they would take my ration book and queue for meat or sausages, and this had to last a week. We had ration books for food, clothes and furniture. Fruit was difficult to get and sweets were rationed as well.

I remember when Michael, of course he was only young, said that he would fetch the milk in for me. I had my doubts as to what might happen, so I followed him, and he was just coming back down the entry clutching the milk to his chest, when the milk suddenly slipped through his fingers and crashed to the floor. We had no milk that day. Michael was very upset and so was I.

In labour and walking to hospital

When Dot my niece lived with me, her husband Cyril came home on leave, and at 4am in the morning I started in labour, so I had to wake Cyril, who said. 'My God! My first night home!' We all got ready and walked along the Fosse Road to Westcotes Hospital, and we rang the bell. Someone opened the door and took one look at me and they pulled me in and firmly shut the door. It was pregnant ladies only. We had a good laugh when Dot and Cyril came to visit me. Dot said, 'It looked as though you were being kidnapped!' The Nurse explained, they were very short staffed and mothers were in the process of having babies and they could not be left.

Always ready to take the children in to the shelter

Before the war my father in law, who lived over the road to where we lived, ordered a metal shelter, to install in his garden. George and his father dug out the soil to accommodate half or two thirds of the shelter's depth, and they fitted bench seats inside. When the sirens went we all took cushions and blankets in to the shelter with us for it was very cold at night. If we were eating we took the food as well. Also, I had to go to bed in a trouser suit, because when the sirens went, I had Michael who was three and Mary a baby, it was a problem to get them both wrapped up to go across the road to go into the shelter. And by the time the all clear went it was a problem getting the children to go to sleep again.

A very clean soot free kettle

We had a laugh one day. I had a kettle just for the fire, to boil water. Whilst Dot and I went to the clinic, Cyril decided to clean the kettle, and he proudly showed it to us when we returned. He filled the kettle and put it on the trivet on the fire, but it leaked and nearly put the fire out. His face was a picture! Dot and Cyril live in Canada now and have for many years, and when I visit or we telephone each other, we always have a good laugh remembering the good things that happened during the War.

Knee deep in snow in February and house bound

In February, both my babies were born in February, the snow was so deep that my father in law had to dig a trench across the road before he could come and visit us, and the milkman had to deliver the milk in small crates, as he could not get his cart down the road to deliver the milk.

Anonymous presents sent from America

We took our babies to the clinic to be weighed and checked by the doctor, and they were giving out parcels from America. I had a lovely baby set of a matinee jacket and a bonnet and boots. They were all hand crocheted and a lovely shade of pink. Being so well dressed my baby was the envy of many mothers. I wanted to write to say thank you, but all the gifts were sent anonymously. Also, we were given jars of black currant for the children and I made mine into jam, as the children preferred it that way.

A liquid paraffin recipe on prescription

My mother was given liquid paraffin from her doctor for the problem of constipation. It was a very large bottle. She said to me 'I don't need all of this', and so I took it home and made some pastry with it. I took the pie for mother to share and she said, suspiciously, where did you get the fat from, for there was a shortage of cooking fat all during the War; there was a shortage of everything. I explained that I had used the liquid paraffin, we laughed so much; and the pie was really delicious!

'Lady', my pet whippet dog, saved the baby

One day I had laid my baby on the rug by the fire and I had to go upstairs, we had coal fires then. When I came down the kettle on the trivet was spitting in the fire and 'Lady' had pulled the rug and the baby under the table, and she was lying in front of the baby. She sure was a clever dog. Lady always protected Mary as a baby, especially when she was in her pram, outside in the fresh air. Lady would let people look at the baby but if they went to touch her she growled her displeasure.

When I had to leave the pram outside a shop, as some shops with steps made it difficult to manoeuvre the pram inside, I always said to Lady, 'on guard Lady,' and she would sit very close to the pram. Lady took her responsibility, as guard dog, seriously. One day, I was in the house and Lady was with the pram outside, a friend of mine approached the pram and went to pull the covers down to look at the baby. Lady growled and took hold of her wrist, warningly, not biting, but growling her displeasure. My friend was amazed and somewhat shook up.

The rag and bone man

The rag and bone man came round each road on his horse and cart, with a clip clop of hooves, you could hear him coming and shouting. Any rag bone! Any rag bone! And he would stop and wait. I gave Michael a bundle of clothes to take out to the man, who would give in exchange, sometimes tuppence or a gold fish in a jam jar. The rag and bone man would say, where is your jam jar, and expect you to provide one.

However, to my surprise Michael returned with a small yellow chicken, which if looked after, in those days, eventually, became your dinner. Unfortunately, before I could put the chicken in a safe place, Michael stepped backwards and trod on the chicken, he was so very upset that the lovely chicken was dead and his foot had been the cause of it.

Also, people collected the horse droppings that were left in the road, as we used it on our vegetable gardens. After a horse or pony had travelled through, the road would be full of eager neighbours all carrying their buckets and dustpans, and some would say, as we all knew each other, 'Go on, you have it; it's your turn'.

Sending photographs of Mary to George

I have a strip of photographs of my little girl Mary where she is crying on every one. I took her to Lewis's store to have her picture taken. The man put her on a shelf that was quite high up and Mary started to cry, such was her distress she had to be taken down. The man gave me the photographs saying, they are only proofs. I decided to send the photographs to her daddy. George was in Africa and in Hospital with a bad ear infection at the time. So the photographs went from Africa to Sicily, and on to Italy and to Naples, and then came home with George. My George said the photos kept him going, as he intended to come home to see us.

Why Mary recognised her father when he came home

George was very worried that Mary would not know him when he came home from the war, he said, he would be a total stranger to her. I had a nice photograph of George, so every night and every morning I showed the photograph to Mary. I would tell her about her daddy, saying that he loved her very much and her daddy was coming home one day. She kissed the photo, and she new it was her daddy, because if she forgot and then remembered, she would shout Daddy, and make her way to the photograph to kiss 'daddy' goodnight.

Problems when travelling with two small children

To visit my Mother, who lived at the top end of Welford road up a very steep hill, I bought a second hand pushchair, with a step on the front. I put the baby in the pushchair and my son who was three, stood on the step and held on to the handles. The bus conductor would fold the pushchair up and put it under the stairs of the bus and carry my baby, until Michael and I were settled in the seat. There were a lot of lady conductors in those days, for if you were married with no children, you had to be called on to do a job of work.

Communication was important, it kept us going

There was no television in those days and few people had a telephone, so we all listened to the wireless especially the news, and every evening, when I would be sewing or knitting clothes for the children and writing my letters to George. Letters were so important for George to have, especially the news about the children.

George and the Italian engineers working under fire

George was based at a work-shop in Naples, he was in charge and because he was a mechanical engineer, he had to teach the Italian engineers how to make do and mend lorries, out of the scrap metal that they went out under fire to fetch, as out there, there was no way they could get armaments or replacements parts for mending the lorries. It was make do and mend. George said, the men he worked with often took him home and he shared wonderful meals with them, they were very nice people.

'Lady' my dog was always looking for George

It was strange, in that Lady would prowl the house as though searching in every room. She would be upstairs and then downstairs, and acting restless. She appeared to be looking for something but could not find it. This went on all during the time that George was away. George arrived home from the War at 9pm, I was expecting him, but when I opened the door, Lady was suddenly there to greet George first. She went mad with excitement, jumping up at George and squealing with delight, with her lips drawn back from her teeth as though smiling, she just did not know what to do, she literally wet the floor and she was skidding everywhere! After this night, when George came home, Lady did not search the house anymore.

Now safely home, George became seriously ill

The bad ear infection that George had in Africa became worse when he came home; it was meningitis. He was taken to Hospital in Oxford to see specialist doctors, where many other men also had meningitis. His operation was done under local anaesthetic, and he was the only patient to survive from the meningitis ward. They said at the hospital; it was a miracle that George survived, which is another story on its own. I thought I might lose George to the War, but to come home and to have this life threatening illness brought us closer together than ever before.

Georges operation was for Mastoid Meningitis

During the operation, the doctor said to George, ‘this is the first time ever that we have seen the working brain’. I think the doctors were excited at seeing a working brain. On leaving the Hospital, all the Nurses and Doctors lined the long corridor and clapped George, as he left, swaying from side to side, Nurses kissed him and the Doctors shook his hand.

And so, George lived to tell the tale to Mary, of why he had two holes bored into his scull with a drill, whilst he was wide awake, for she was fascinated by the two indentations, that she could feel under his skin where the drilling had taken place.

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