大象传媒

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I was born in 1934 and was only 5 when war was declared. So these memories are those of a young child. Despite my young age, many of my memories are quite vivid and quite naturally many are associated with food and food rationing.

Rationing started quite early in 1940 and by the end of the war just about everything was rationed, in particular food and which eventually included bread and potatoes. My Father who was a Chemical Engineer, was a keen gardener and we had a 鈥淒ig for Victory鈥� allotment to supplement our already quite large vegetable garden. I used to help my father on Saturdays and Sundays by carrying tools to the allotment and bringing back produce. What he grew became quite extensive and included the general run of vegetables such as cabbages, carrots and also Jerusalem Artichokes, which are potato-like tubers but with a very distinctive taste. In our garden were several apple trees and two magnificent cherry trees, which in season used to supplement the very small ration of sweets and chocolate.

Because of the war, toys were largely unavailable and you had to make do with what you had. I was very fortunate since I had two older brothers and inherited many Dinky toys and a very large Meccano set with clockwork motors together with the necessary nuts, bolts and several screwdrivers and spanners. From this I made all manner of things. I even managed to make a truck, which I could steer from above by means of an extended rod with a steering wheel attached to it. With this I toured the house in and out of rooms all the time accompanied by suitable motor noises. I am sure my parents must have found this more than a little irritating. One other inherited toy that was very tantalizing was a train set which had been Marcus鈥� and David鈥檚. It was double O (OO) gauge, German made system, but it would not work because it needed this vital spare part and of course they were unavailable. But I did have a large supply of O gauge track with one clockwork engine. Tony also had a large supply of track and one engine and we used to set this up in his garden. It must have covered a total of well over 100yards with crossovers and points. We had great games trying to set the two engines running so that they would almost crash at the crossover but not quite.

Once I had grown out of my little red pedal car there was a tricycle that I inherited from my older brothers. It had large wheels, with solid tyres and a leather sprung seat just like a big bicycle. It operated much like a regular bicycle too, with pedals and a chain that drove one of the rear wheels. It also had breaks that operated on the front wheel. This front brake system meant you had to be a bit careful as they could grab and cause a sudden tumble. The 鈥榯rike鈥� as they were called, was my staple until I graduated to a two-wheeler when I was about fourteen.

As I grew older I remember entering into the serious business of swapping pieces of war related debris that we could find in the countryside. Nearby was an Army artillery range and we used to find bullets, bullet cases and even pieces of shrapnel. Towards the end of the war when radar jamming was in operation, we would find small slivers of aluminium foil that was used by Bomber Command to mislead the enemy as to the size and direction of the RAF night-raids on Germany. One day, probably in the summer of 1940 when the Battle of Britain was at its height, there was great excitement when a German Messerschmitt fighter was shot down just half a mile from our home and I went with every other small boy to see the debris. We hoped to see the pilot but he had been captured long before we got there.

Another great activity for small children was 鈥楽alvage Drives鈥�. We had to collect everything useful for the war such as paper, tin cans, aluminium and bottles, all of which represented very valuable materials in very short supply. The Mayor would organise 鈥榙rives鈥� and badges were offered as a reward for being a good 鈥楽alvage Collector鈥�. Diana, my wife, was a very enthusiastic Salvage Drive collector and she won several badges.

The Government also organised exhibitions of tanks and airplanes to support their campaign to get people to donate their aluminium pots and pans to make more airplanes. They also used to ask people to make donations in cash, in a campaign to 鈥楬elp Build a Spitfire or Tank鈥�. I used to give part of my very precious shilling a week pocket money. Of course I believe the real reason for the request for cash, was to apply a kind of voluntary taxation, to sop up extra spending power and reduce inflation, because people may have had cash in their purses but there was little to buy.

We lived in quite a large house with five bedrooms and as a result we were always having people billeted on us. There would be a knock on the front door and a policeman would hand over a form that told my parents that a person would be arriving, and we had to put them up. We had some very interesting people. One I recall very well, was Mr B. He was a Polish airman who managed to get to England after Germany and Russia invaded Poland. He had been transferred into the RAF and he had a hush-hush job at the Meteorological Office. He was very tall and was always standing to attention, bowing and clicking his heels and he used to kiss ladies鈥� hands. He hated the Germans almost as much as he hated the Russians. He married a young English WAAF (Women鈥檚 Auxiliary Air Force) who, under the laws as they stood at the time, became Polish and was transferred to the Polish Air Force! Since the Polish Government in exile had little money she had a bad time. After the war Mr B and his English wife went to Australia, in order to be as far from the Russians as possible.

Diana remembers they had Australian airmen billeted in an empty house next door. One day their clothes prop disappeared and then the wooden fence was removed. It turned out the poor Aussies were frozen with no central heating and they were burning everything they could find in the fireplace to stay warm. Diana also remembers Christmases with Australians and New Zealanders coming for dinner and that shillings and half-crowns would appear in the strangest places, much to the wonder of a small girl.

In my case we had American G.I.s nearby and my parents would invite them home as my Mother had lived in Chicago as a child and my father knew New York.

The town had light industry and was only about 35 miles north of London and remarkably we were not bombed much, though occasionally a German aircraft would become lost and we would have a scare. On one occasion, probably in 1940 when I was aged six, a low flying German airplane strafed the town and I remember my Mother rushing to bring me inside. I was very frightened.

Diana got to experience much more action. She lived in a seaside town just outside Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which was a major port and in the early years, air raids were a nightly event. The family spent many nights crammed under the staircase since there was no basement. One night, in about 1940, a land mine landed in their back garden. Fortunately it did not go off, but she and the whole street were evacuated and she remembers this as a time of great excitement sleeping on someone鈥檚 kitchen floor. Diana also remembers her father, who was a bank manager, being absolutely furious because the land mine had ruined his lovely patch of vegetables.

Because of the air raids, strict rules of blackouts were imposed. I was far too young to remember the upheaval that this must have caused, but it must have been quite a challenge when in a matter of only a few weeks, every window had to be covered with material specified by the Government. Failure to comply with the blackout regulations could result in serious penalties and there were ARP (Air Raid Precaution) Wardens who patrolled the streets. Each evening every household had to put up the blackout and then take it down in the morning. This must have been quite a chore. In addition to the blackout it was also recommended that people paste strips of material across each pane in a saltire pattern, so that in the event of blast glass would not fly about and cause injury.

My father was a scientist and since he was born in 1887 he was fifty-two at the outbreak of war and far too old for military service. So, he was made a Gas Identification Officer for the ARP. As a result, the house was filled with strange equipment and even stranger substances that I was forbidden to touch. Father had a uniform and a steel helmet with ARP on it. We also had a telephone installed so father could be contacted if necessary and our number was Dunstable 197. The telephone was one of those stand-up black ones with the earpiece hanging at the side. To use it, you picked up the earpiece and waited until the operator would ask you, 鈥淣umber please.鈥� Father used to go off in the evenings and Saturdays and give lectures and demonstrations about poison gas. One thing I particularly remember was that he had to demonstrate the dangers of Mustard Gas. He used to fill a container with it and then put his hand in and tell his audience that they had so many seconds or minutes to wash it off before they were burned. On one occasion he was too slow and got his hand burnt.

The threat of gas attacks by the Germans was very real from the day that war broke out. In fact, the Government had been planning how to deal with this threat for some time before actual hostilities broke out in 1939. The result was that very early on everyone was issued with gas masks. For us children they were initially something of a torment and even a horror. I was frightened of the nasty thing that smelled of rubber and the idea of putting it on filled me with revulsion. However, we had to do it and we did. By law, everyone had to carry their gas mask at all times, and you could be fined if you were caught without it. When they were issued they came in a pretty flimsy cardboard box with a strap so you could hang it from your shoulder. After a time firms began offering for sale more elaborate satchels, since the cardboard soon wore out. By 1942 I was eight and I had to carry not only a gas mask to school but also a satchel for my school stuff. But the great thing about the gas mask was that you could slip it off your shoulder in a second and it became a sort of weapon. We children used to have battles swinging our gas masks at each other on our way to and from school. If we had ever been required to put them on for a real gas attack it is doubtful that they would have still been of much use. But fortunately and sensibly, the Germans did not resort to use of gas on England.

I had two older brothers; Marcus was in the Royal Navy and David was working on a farm and as such, was not called up into the forces. He was, however required to be in the Home Guard. My Mother and I visited him in the country and one day there was a big alarm and the Home Guard was called out at night. In fact, this was to cover for the impending D-Day landings (June 6th) and I recall that every narrow lane was full of British and American lorries (trucks), loaded with men and equipment heading south for the invasion. We small boys especially liked the Americans as we used to call out to them at traffic stops. 鈥淕ot any gum chum?鈥� Sometimes we got a stick.

Holidays and vacations during the war were very difficult, to the point of impossibility. The only way to get about was either by bus or train as petrol (gasoline) was unavailable, but they were very crowded and often delayed by air raids. Before the war people had gone to the seaside, typically for two weeks, but because of a threat of a German invasion the beaches were mined and the promenades were covered with barbed wire. Other seaside entertainments were closed down. I was fortunate in having an uncle who was a priest and who lived in a large house in North Shields on the river Tyne. I went there several times in the summers with my parents. We would go down to the fish quays and see the herring fleets come in with their catch. The gulls were very greedy and would eat several small herrings one after the other. The other docks were full of ships, both Royal Navy and merchant ships. One day a sailor gave me a ten shilling note (half a pound sterling and a small fortune to a small boy in about 1942) because, as the sailor explained to my parents, it was lucky to see a red headed boy on coming ashore. The seas were very dangerous in those days due to German submarines and sailors are known for their superstitions. We also used to cross the Tyne using the steam ferries, which I recall as being most interesting.

Uncle鈥檚 house was totally in the dark as the blackout was strictly enforced, due to the frequent raids by the Luftwaffe. My uncle used bookcases to cover the windows. The darkness was very frightening for a small boy, as you had to creep about even in the daytime due to frequent power failures. Food at uncle鈥檚 was prepared by Miss B his housekeeper and was always interesting and delicious with dishes such as soused herrings, dressed crabs and tiny shrimp, all as fresh as could be. Fish was one food that was not rationed.

Other foods not rationed were rabbits. My hometown was quite small and you could get to the country in minutes on your bicycle. Some farmers would sell rabbits they had shot and the fishmonger had them hanging in his shop. We had rabbit pie and also stews. But when eating rabbit you had to be careful of the small lead pellets from the guns that you would find in your mouth. Mushrooms were also an important supplement to our diet as they grew quite plentifully in season in some of the nearby meadows. They were often quite enormous and most delicious. Another supplement was beechnuts that as children we would gather from the ground where they had fallen. Beechnuts are tiny and it took a lot of work to collect even a cup full. Nothing that could be eaten was wasted. In the hedgerows were often brambles (blackberries), big, black and juicy, and these we would gather for my mother to make wonderful pies; but there was no cream and certainly no ice cream!

I well remember May 1945, when the Germans surrendered. I was allowed (at the age of 11), to go to the centre of town to view the celebrations. There was much dancing and singing and a lot of drunkenness. I was particularly fascinated by an old man (he was old to me), walking around complaining in a very drunken manner 鈥淚鈥檝e lost me teeth!鈥�

In about August 1945 my father was made a Colonel in the British Army and sent to Germany to examine Hydrogen Peroxide Plants. He went to both the British and American zones and came back with a small suitcase full of American candy 鈥� Snickers, Hershey bars and chewing gum, some of which had a very curious flavour, like an antiseptic ointment we called Germoline. But we chewed it anyway.

On the whole I remember the war as fun, much as a young boy might since we were not really aware of the dreadful events that were unfolding. It was no doubt much different for people on the Continent in occupied areas and for our poor parents. My mother had I believe, a particularly difficult time, as did all mothers. They had to handle the rationing and arrange to put meals on the table and keep the family and in particular, feed a young growing boy. But for me there were plenty of interesting and exciting things to do.

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