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This story was submitted to the People's War site by volunteers Rebecca, Bryn and Jolene on behalf of Valerie Georgina Haynes and has been added to the site with her permission. Valerie fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was only two years old when the war started so I remember very little. But I do remember the fear of waking up to the sirens and my sister going and leaving me as I was so used to people I knew disappearing. As there were no gas masks for babies my Mum had to put me, screaming, in my cradle and close it over and this used to make her cry. Even when the war finished and the sirens went to call workers to lunch I used to cry, thinking it was still wartime. My Mum was very busy constantly — she had the two of us to look after, two soldiers that were billeted with her and she had to substitute a lot in cooking etc, making more work for her. Sometimes she would start cooking the dinner at 9am.

I remember once that I was in my pushchair and my Mum was pushing me down the road. One of her friends stopped and said "I really feel like a fresh egg" as these were so unusual during the war. My Mum was smuggled them under the counters though because she had two young children but she had to keep this secret or there would be a 'stampede' of people asking for them, so she said "I feel like one too". However, I was only two years old so I said "We have eggs". My Mum tried to hide it saying "No, they're walnuts" but I was insistent. She could never look that lady in the face again!

My Mum had to go to hospital because of internal damage from birthing us two children. She was there for three months and couldn't move. She said she was frightened that there would be an air raid and she wouldn't be able to escape. On the hospital form it said that she had to bring her ration book and gas mask! My sister and I were very close, she was like a second mother to me, especially during this time when we were passed from person to person.

I had two uncles involved in the military. One of these was George Pledger. He was in the army, the Green Howards. He was traumatized by the war camps in Italy (one of these was Dresden war camp) — he was captured by the Italians while he was in Brook, Africa. They stole his watch and took his family photos from his front pocket and ripped them up. He used to write letters to us in pencil as the Italians would rub out any information about the war they didn't want us to know. He never spoke much about it though — it was too painful.

My other uncle was George Day. He was in the navy. He was nicknamed 'Gunner Day' as he was on the guns. He was involved in Dunkirk, he was running to the sea on the beach and his friend running behind him was shot. He waited in the sea and was collected by the Medway Queen cruiser (Now used as a cruiser in the Thames!). One time he had to stand and watch a German ship sink, with his arms folded behind his back.

My Dad, Arthur Pledger, was too old for the air force, so he was an aircraft rigger — they salvaged materials off the crashed planes. He was a welder and made marvellous things out of Perspex and made me a lovely plane brooch out of a penny. He was stationed at Wales, then Oakington and then Marshalls.

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