大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People鈥檚 War Website by Anne Wareing of the Lancashire Home Guard on behalf of John and Sarah Greenwoood and has been added to the site with their permission鈥�

I was 11 when the war started and had just moved to Park Senior School Colne. I remember that some of the classes were changed. Our form should have had French, but instead this was changed to First Aid and instead of needlework we knitted socks for soldiers.
Also the shortage of paper affected us, I recall in our exercise books we had to rule an extra line at the top and bottom and we wrote inside the back cover when the book was full, in order to make it go that little bit further. We didn鈥檛 have any art lessons, we couldn鈥檛 waste paper drawing, I missed this, because I loved to draw.

We all had identity cards and gas masks and had to carry them with us wherever we went. Rationing affected everyone, I missed sweets and bananas and soap was in short supply. We all had to 鈥榙ig for victory鈥� and we dug our garden over and grew vegetables and I remember selling tomatoes and with the money we would by more seeds to plant. On the subject of food, I recall one day my Auntie and I were getting some scones from the pantry and we dropped one in a tub of powdered soap, which was also rationed at the time, we brushed off the scone, because you didn鈥檛 throw any food away, I took a bite and said, 鈥榯hat鈥檚 bad鈥� and so my Auntie took a bite and she said, 鈥榯hat鈥檚 damn bad鈥� so we fed it to the dog.

I went into the mill when I was 14, the mill still had gas lamps; in fact not many of the houses around Trawden had electric light until 1947 or 48. Working in the mill was classed as essential work, during the war and I worked there until I was 21.

Being in the country we were fairly safe, we would sometimes see and hear the German bombers flying over, probably on there way to the coast and I think only the odd bomb was dropped in the area.

They had tank traps in Trawden and pill- boxes, also there were dummy pill- boxes in the church walls and coiled barbed wire around the fields. We used to have trams running in Trawden, but they ceased in 1928. During the war they took the tracks up and cut them into 8 to 10 foot lengths and put them into the ground in the village square like stakes, these would hopefully have stopped the German tanks, had we been invaded.

Before the Home Guard there was the Local Defence Volunteers the LDV or as we called them, the 鈥楲ook, Duck and Vanish鈥� and the story goes one of them was on duty, heard a rustling in the bushes and said bravely, 鈥楬alt, who goes there?鈥� only to find it was a cow.

Quite a bit of black marketing went on in country areas and John my husband recalls when him and his Dad had gone to pick 3 crates of eggs up from this farm, on the way back they got stopped by the policeman. Who said to them. 鈥楾his horse of yours is lame, you need to get it shod.鈥� He never asked them what was covered up in the back of the cart, if he had investigated, he would have found 30 dozen eggs in there from the farm. Just a couple of the many local stories from that time.

The following are seven verses of a poem entitled 鈥楾rawdin鈥� which I wrote in Lancashire dialect about the tram- lines in Trawden.

W鈥檈n trams came to Trawdin, it wer鈥� a gurt day,
An鈥� all t鈥檏ids gate time off, soa thi cud play.
Thi all 鈥榚d a ride, an鈥� 鈥榚d buns an鈥� tea,
An鈥� t鈥檅est o鈥� t鈥檒ot, it wer鈥� all fer free.

Nah, t鈥檛rams ran ter Trawdin i鈥� 1904,
An鈥� fowk 鈥榚d ne鈥檙 sin owt like it befooar.
Thi only ran t鈥橰ock Hotel,
An鈥� 鈥榚re t鈥檛ram driver rang 鈥榠z bell.

Thi ran on the tracks till twenty eight,
I鈥� sunshine an鈥� snaw, boo-ath early an鈥� late.
Nah, t鈥檒ines wer鈥� kept till t鈥檞ar wer鈥� on,
An鈥� sad ter say, thiv nah all gone鈥�.

But thi played the鈥檙 part, lyin鈥� i鈥檛 Square,
Ready ter stop t鈥橨erry tanks getting there.
It might seem ser strange, fer t鈥檡鈥檜ng ones ter see,
At this cud 鈥榓ve 鈥榓ppened i鈥� forty-three.

W鈥檈n t鈥橳rawdin 鈥淒ad鈥檚 Army鈥� gathered each night,
If t鈥橤ermans came, thi wer鈥� ready ter fight,
Ther鈥檚 monny a tale, 鈥榓t ez bin told,
Ov these brave lads, 鈥榓t wer鈥� soa bold.

Thi 鈥榚d ter goa on t鈥檓oor at neet,
An鈥� even t鈥檆ahs gav鈥� them a freet,
But, thi did the鈥檙 best till t鈥檞ar wer鈥� won,
An鈥� wi 鈥榚v ter thank 鈥榚m, ivverone.

Nah, th鈥檕nly records wi ev, ar on slide,
But, t鈥檇eeds o鈥� 鈥淒ad鈥檚 Army鈥� are known far 鈥榓n wide,
Bi鈥檆oss of the funniest T.V. show,
An鈥� all the actors cud bi sumone wi know.

Sarah Greenwood

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