大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Catherine Garvie, Learning Project Manager at 大象传媒 Scotland on behalf of Bryan Barr from Hurlford Primary School who interviewed Mrs Maggie Bunting from Catrine. The story has been added to the site with Mrs Bunting's permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

As part of our research into WWII we interviewed Mrs Maggie Bunting from Catrine. Mrs Bunting is 87 years old and worked in the Munitions Factory at Bowhouse, just outside Hurlford during the War. Mrs Bunting's husband was fighting in Europe with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during WWII, and because the men were overseas, the women had to their jobs.

Mrs Bunting explained that women did all the jobs in the factory making the incendiary bombs - from packing in the explosives, to making the shell casing, to operating the huge machinery and packing the bombs on the trains at Bowhouse. The bombs were then taken all over Britain to airports and seaports to be transported to where they were needed for the war effort.

The women travelled by bus and to and from their work, and when it was dark in the mornings there were no streetlights due to the 'black out'. So, the women had to carry tiny torches to light their way to the bus stops. The workers had to wear special clothing as the powders in the factory covered their clothing and skin with yellow powder.

Mrs Bunting also talked about the rationing for food and clothing. She explained that when fresh meat and fruit arrived in the village shops, people had to queue for hours to get their share. People in villages were lucky because they could grow vegetables in their gardens and could keep hens for fresh eggs.

She also showed us her wedding photo from 1940 and explained that her sister wore the same dress in 1945, and three other friends had worn her dress as well because there were no materials or money to make new wedding dresses and veils. Mrs Bunting also told us about her husband's leave from the Army. He was allowed home for up to ten days every six months, but if his regiment was abroad it was every eight months. She said it was a very scary and lonely time because the wives never knew where their husbands were, or even if they were still alive. Happily, Mrs Bunting's husband arrived home safely.

It was interesting listening to Mrs Bunting's memories and realising that my grandparents and great grandparents must have had the same experiences, and by recording these memories we are making sure that future generations don't forget about the hardships these older people went through.

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