大象传媒

PART TWO

Schooldays.

Used to collect fins from incendiary bombs, clean and paint them up, turn them upside down and put flowers in at school. Used landmine parachute ropes for horse halters for gypsies, the thin strands used as laces for clogs, and pretty pale blue silk for ladies knickers etcall came in handy and saved the clothing coupons.

Rationing; Petrol, Clothes, Sweets, Food.
Off Coupons; Peanut butter, spam, dried egg powder, this was lend lease from America, red sticky once a month from Barnard's store. 2pence a bag of 2 ounces.
Used Barrage Balloon fabric for covering rabbit hutches and making shopping bags.
School Garden; Dig for Victory; 2 boys equal one plot, sell veg. for school funds
2 boys; equal one beehive or rabbits, killed for food.

Black Market.
There was a black market in most things such as petrol nicked from the Army.Army blankets washed up on the beach at Withernsea. My grandmother made ladies coats from American green-army sheets.
Ship Sunk. The Steam Ship 'Canada' hit a mine and sunk in shallow water off Holmpton. Washed ashore was some of the cargo, dried fruit,apples etc. What was recovered was quickly hidden away and appeared on the black market. The fruit was a bit salty but it helped out our rations. Some boxes of lard were O.K. Some oranges and grapefruit were covered in a balk of oil, but when washed off were O.K.

Tragedy; 8 Merchant Navy bodies washed up. they were buried with full honours in Patrington cemetery.

Old Blackey; Gypsey scrap dealer lived at the back of the 'Hildyard' in a caravan. Used to go out at 4 am and pinch hay cocks from field to feed his horse. Did black market deals with army,a soldier put a bag of swag in our backyard by mistake containing ham and eggs etc. Needless to say it was gratefully received. Blackey had to dump 250 gallons of petrol down the drain as the army police had a tip-off, he said to me 'Don't light your pipe!'

ARP; Warden's Post in shop at front of the house(West of Hildyard Arms).My mother cleaned there on Saturday mornings, I sneaked in and altered bomb records from 5 to 50!

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