大象传媒

This story was submitted to the Peoples War site by Deena Campbell a volunteer from CSV Action Desk on behalf of William Robert Davies and Rose Davies and has been added to the site with thier permission. William Robert Davies and Rose Davies fully understand the sites terms and conditions.

I was aged 12 when war was declared and remember those years quite clearly. I wasn't concerned as it didn't occur to me that we could possibly lose the war. Nothing changed much in the first 12 months except the rationing but when the air raids started, the reality became clear. I come from a large family of 5 brothers and 3 sisters, I often think how worried my mother must have been as we lived in Alum Rock which received its fair share of bombing.

When the sirens sounded we would head into the Anderson Shelter and unless you were there, it's hard to know how terrifying it is to hear bombs whistling over your head. Not knowing if you would come out dead or alive would be the worst but we came out to tell our story.

I left school in 1940 and went straight into work. I was evacuated for a short while to Pipewood Girls School but became homesick and my mom came and fetched me. Life wasnt all bad during the war, my friend Rose and I went dancing regularly and had great fun, back then folks were more friendly and thoughtful.

Like many, I grew up quickly and met my future husband in 1944, he was on leave from the army preparing for D-Day. We married in 1946 and have one daughter, Sadly my husband passed away in 1996.

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