大象传媒

I was born in Middlesbrough and I was 7 in 1939. I remember walking home from church with my family on the Sunday morn war was declared. Everybody was speculating on what was going to happen. We had an Anderson air-raid shelter in the back garden, complete with 5 bunks and straw mattresses. I remember the black beetles, most of all.

We had shutters on all the windows,and no street lights so it was pitch black outside.

Until I was 11 I went to Whinney Banks School. The air-raid shelters were tunnels underneath the playing fields. We liked it when the siren blew as the teacher had a large bottle of sweets. These were passed around when we were settled in the shelter and we were allowed one each. We had a gas-mask to carry around at all times. It was the bane of my life. It was in a case with a shoulder strap. We used to swing them around and hit each other with them. I was always having to have the perspex window renewed. Mother was never pleased to have to pay for a new one.

My sister, friends and I raised money for the Missions to Seamen. We had concerts in our back garden and charged the other kids a half-penny to come in. We passed sweets around during the interval, pieces of fruit rock with girls' and boys' names running through. I can't remember how we entertained the audiences but we always had a full house.

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