大象传媒

In September 1939, Mum and I were in the kitchen listening to the radio, a bakerlite contraption that looked like a grinning man. It was announced that we were now at war with Germany and my mother burst into tears and buried her head in her orange apron. She was distraught as my father was an ex-RAF wireless operator, and she believed that he would be immediately called up. In actual fact, he was in a restricted occupation and therefore was not called upon.

As a prison officer, he worked at Norwich prison and once war was in progress he was in charge of prisoners who were conscientious objectors and therefore not threatening. When the siren went, the cell doors were opened and the prisoners were allowed to make their way to shelters, but most stayed in their cells as the walls were so thick and they felt safe there.

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