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This story was submitted to the People's War site by the CSV Action Desk at 大象传媒 Radio Derby on behalf of Aileen Wardle. The author understands the sites terms and conditions.

When the war broke out I was 11 and living in Derby. My schooling was affected as Ashbourne Road School was shut and turned into a first aid post so I missed 18 months. During that time I had to go and collect schoolwork to do at home. Eventually I was sent to Chaddesden Road School which was some distance from home. I left school at 14 (although caught up on my studies a bit later at college) and went to work for Derby Corporation Electrical Department.

I lived at Kingsway, where the guns were so could hear the noise they made. Markeaton Park was turned into a military base and the first lot in were Asian, with turbans, which I'd never seen before. They had dances there you could go to for sixpence, but I was too young to go. I'd go to the skating rink on Ashbourne Road which stayed open during the war

We had Americans based in Derby. They'd come into town and one night it would be the white soldiers and the next it would be for black soldiers.

I saw the plane that came over and bombed Rolls Royce. You could tell by the sound if it was German or one of those. Mum was on war work making shells at what was the Qualcaust lawnmower factory so we were looked after by a neighbour.

When I reached 17 I joined the Land Army and went to Hereford to spend 12 months growing and packing veg for Covent Garden market. The war was over by then but we had to wait a while before the men came back.

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