大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War website by Pam MacLaren for GMR Actiondesk on behalf of Mrs Barbara Kelly and has been added with her permission. The author is fully aware of the terms and conditions of the site.

I was 7 years old in 1939 when the war was declared.

I remember all my family sitting listening to the 'wireless' on September 3rd, and Meville Chamberlain saying that we had declared war on Nazi Germany.

My mum was very upset and worried as my eldest brother was in the Regular Army, and he would be going to fight immediately.

In the following weeks we all had to get out gas-masks. I hated mine as it smelt of rubber and made all your face sweat. However, we all had to carry them around with us. My mum used to put a packet of Horlicks tablets in my box, just in case we had to go to the shelter and stay awhile, without anything to eat.

All our houses were blacked out, and all the railings round the park were taken away. I remember asking one of the men as to why they were doing it, and he replied that they were going to make guns with them.

Nothing seemed to happen for quite a while. Then one day in 1940 my mum came to bring me out of school, as my brother, who was in the army, had been evacuated from Dunkirk, where he had been fighting. He was only home for 24 hours, and then had to go back. We were all very tearful.

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