大象传媒

This story has been added to this website by Stoke-on-Trent Libraries with the permission of the author.
The rules and regulations of the website have been agreed by the author.

I was born in 1940 and lived in Norton until I was five. I lived near to Billingham and so we were targeted quite heavily.
I remember being put under the table and being pulled from my cot to go out to the air-raid shelter. Like many others I have vivid memories of the complete darkness of the "Blackout"
My Father was a Minister of Religion and also a member of the Home Guard.
My mother was German. Dad met mum while he was studying theology. In order to get married my mother had to be naturalized. They both returned to Exeter. If she hadn't have been naturalized she would have been interred at the Isle of Man.
Mum was very outspoken. My father set up a "link" group which connected civilians to people in the forces.
My father was a chaplin to German POW's in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees.
My parents never discussed the war with me even though they listened every day to the 1 o'clock news.
Mum couldn't write directly home to tell her family that she had had a daughter. She had to write to friends in Switzerland who then had to re-write the letter in order for it to get to Germany.
Some letters were opened in Germany and once my grandparents were qquestioned by Germans regardiing the letters.
I remember at home we had quite a large garden with a garage and dad kept 3 hens and grew vegetables and had an orchard.
Within the hose we kept to one room which we were able to keep warm.I have vivid memories of the scullery as it was so cold.
We used to use a "Soap saver" Soap was swung in the device to enable enough soap to be extracted for the washing up.
I remember mum going time and time again to the green grocer for oranges which were much prized. Once when I was only about 5 I was allowed to peel an orange but by mistake I threw the orange instead of the peel into the fire ! My mother was mortified.
My father was kept very busy as a minister. Services were well attended and I remember that even back in those days we had a phone - used mostly for church business.
In 1949 my German Grandma came to visit.
My Grandfather was an architect in Germany and owned a very large house in Marburg on the river Lahn.
The second floor was let out and I remember the space under the roof was used for storing apples. At that time in Germany all residents had to have lodgers in their homes.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.