大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Elizabeth Perez of Stockport Libraries on behalf of Dorothy Roylance and has been added to the site with her permission. She fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

Setember 3rd 1939 was the date when our lives changed forever. We were on a war footing from day one. Changes happened immediately; a gloomy wekend with no music on the "wireless", no cinemas or theatres, just news bulletins and dreary sombre music. Street lighting ceased and "blackout" was in full force immediately.

I was in a reserved occupation for the whole of the war and had to sign the Official Secrets Act as my firm supplied machinery to all branches of the armed forces. My job was typing contracts, schedules and invoices, working long hours keeping supplies flowing to destroyers and Air Force bases.

We gave up our evenings to man first aid posts or typing for Home Guard Units. Our town had its share of Air Raids and bombs, and we were soon able to distinguish between "our" aircraft and the German bombers.

The Manchester Blitz was something to behold. I was five miles outside the city, but we heard the continual "crump" of the bombs and our anti-aircraft fire and the whole sky was a blaze of orange light; it was very eerie.

We grew up very quickly in the war years and six years of our life is a long time and can never be forgotten. You feel an affinity with all that generation who were involved.

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