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My first memory of the war being declared was that I was going on holiday to Great Yarmouth with my aunty and uncle, but of course it was cancelled much to my disappointment as an 11 year old, who had only ever been on one holiday before that. I have never managed to get to Great Yarmouth even now!

We lived in Warley, (which was a Birmingham suburb back then, now part of Worcestershire) there was mom, dad and my sister Pamela who's 8 years younger than me. When the sirens went dad made us all go down to the air raid shelter at the top of the garden. Then when he became an air raid warden at his place of work in Birmingham (chemical factory) we went down the shelter almost as soon as it got dark. Dad had built us all bunks round the inside of the shelter and it was lit by paraffin tilly lamps and sometimes candles to save on paraffin.

I don't remember ever having a day off school because of the war. I do remember that our swimming and cookery lessons were stopped at Bristnall Hall Girls School because there were R.A.F men using the building as a billet. We had a barrage balloon in the grounds of the school and the Yanks took over theThimblemill Road swimming baths and a local laundry for their billet as well (definitely out of bounds as far as my parents were concerned!).

as I got older, about 13, I had to take my sister Pamela to my nan's every morning before school, in Bearwood, because mom had to do her bit in the war. So she worked in the laundry at Dudley road Hospital. I then had to get a bus from the bottom of gran's road to school.

The only excitement, if you can call it that, was when a German pilot bailed out of his plane and got tangled up in the top of the Catholic church quite near to where we lived. We were allowed to watch this from the garden because dad was with us. During this event I was trying to find my knitting ball of wool that I had dropped as I got out of the shelter. I knitted navy blue socks for a penpal in the Navy. He had been my dad's lorry mate so everything was ok. I never went out with him, much to my disgust at that time!

My final memory of my school days were that my Aunty Betty paid for me to have my hair permed a week before I left school, ready for starting work. The headmistress, a Miss Field, had me on the stage to show the other girls how quickly you can go down the slippery slope to being a fast girl! Bearing in mind I was still wearing white ankle socks and even had to wear them to go to work (although I did take them off at the bottom of the road)! I finally got to be able to afford my first pair of stockings and suspender belt - stockings 1/11 a pair - belt 4/11 taken out of my 10 shillings a week wages a bit at a time, 1 shilling a week by my employer. Imagine todays girls standing for that!

Throughout the war on weekends and school holidays we went to Grimley, to 'The Camp Pub' where dad had built a wooden bungalow for us. It had two rooms and an outside chemical toilet in a shed but we spent some happy times there (I even spent my honeymoon there!). dad dismantled it in about 1950 as mom started to be ill and we never went there again, dad and I travelled down on Saturday lunch time after work to do this. I remember it cost 2/6 for the fare from Birmingham to Worcester and then back again late on Sunday night ready for work on Monday morning.

I started work at 14 and for 6 months worked in a shop in Bearwood and then my dad got me a job in an office at Holt Brewery (part of Ansells Brewery in those days, near Aston Birmingham). I travelled to work everyday with my dad, I led a very sheltered life.

I spend VE Day and VJ Day opening the post from the pubs and hotels (no computers and emails then!). I had my first taste of champagne and fresh salmon sandwiches provided by the brewery because we volunteered to work those two days, even though they were officially a holiday, we got extra money as well.

I stayed at the brewery till about late 1946 when I met a friend of a work mate home on leave from the Navy (not my penpal!) and that was it for me. We married on September 25th 1948 and managed 50 years and 6 months together and 3 children before he died in 1999.

We were lucky really because in lots of ways I can't remember the war affecting us to much, but I suppose my parents covered up lots of events from my sister and myself.

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Jacci Phillips of the CSV Action Desk at 大象传媒 Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Joan Hands and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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