大象传媒

This story was submitted to the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by Wymondham Learning Centre on behalf of the author who fully understand the site's terms and conditions.

I was born in Jamaica in 1934. Some men volunteered for the British Army and Air Force, because of lack of jobs on the island, some because of loyalty to their ancestors. The Prime Minister, Mr Manly, was a pilot in the R.A.F.

The main effects of the war in Jamaica were due to the fact that imports and exports were affected. Oil, petrol, rice and wheat were in very short supply. No electricity hence lamps used for lighting were sometimes fuelled by castor oil obtained by crushing castor seeds. People would walk 4-5 miles to get goods and there were no ration books in use.

There were plenty of bananas and oranges. Men and women would get the peel off oranges by rubbing them over a piece of metal covered with short spikes. The rind would be caught in a bucket and then put into large glass jars. It was rumoured (but never proved) that this was used to produce fuel for planes.

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