大象传媒

I was born in Northampton in 1928 and had just passed my 鈥榮cholarship鈥� in September 1939, so was due to start attending the local 鈥楪rammar School鈥�. However, the start of term was delayed while air-raid shelters were built at the school, so I got an extra month鈥檚 holiday.

After I had just about settled into the new school routine we heard that Kilburn and Willesden Grammar School was being evacuated to Northampton and that they would share our school buildings. It was arranged that we would go to school in the mornings from 9am to 1pm and then the other school would come in from 2pm to 5pm. This did not mean that we got every afternoon off. There were the school sports, the Gardening club, the First Aid club, the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps. I attended each at some time in the four years I was at school. Looking back it seems surprising that there was never any contact between the pupils of the two schools, but I suppose it was difficult enough to arrange to share the buildings.

I particularly enjoyed the Air Training Corps and this leads me into my next story. One or two of us got the idea that if we could hitchhike out to one of the British or American Airfields that were in the area we might be allowed to go up in one of their aircraft. I can hardly believe it now but it worked. Sometimes we would report at the guardroom, sometimes if we had got a lift in one of their vehicles we would be taken right into the camp and then we would go and report to the control room. We were never turned away. Someone would say 鈥淥h yes, they are just taking that Wellington up for a test flight, that should be ok.鈥� During that flight I was sent from the flight deck to see the rear gun turret and someone opened the bomb doors as I walked down the fuselage! On another occasion I remember sitting in the co-pilot鈥檚 seat of an American Liberator bomber and being told to take the controls and bank it into a turn. All of this was done without any formalities or any paperwork. We were in uniform, we could well be in the services ourselves before long. There was a war on, one never knew what the next day would hold, so there was this feeling 鈥榣et鈥檚 do what we can now.鈥�

Another memory which did not seem particularly special at that time is walking home from Scouts in the Church Hall, in the blackout, going down all the back-ways of the houses which we called 鈥榡itties鈥� in the dark, on my own without fear. I do remember the superb starlit skies emphasised by the blackout.

There was rationing and I remember the special occasions when ways were found to get round the regulations. My dad was the buyer in the dress department of a big Draper鈥檚. At Christmas the suppliers would give him presents of large packs of cigarettes. He did not smoke much so he took them to a sweet shop and the owner gave him large packs of sweets while she sold the cigarettes to people who had given her sweet coupons!

I had two uncles who had farms in Norfolk. We would go to stay with them for summer holidays. We took our bicycles but were strictly told to lock them up at night, in case the invasion came and the Germans would make use of them! If we did not lock them up the police would take them away during the night. Farmers of course had access to milk and could make plenty of butter. Rabbits still had to be shot and made a superb meal. We even had pheasant on occasion.

School holidays included working on local farms and there we met Italian prisoners of war who were allowed out to work on the farms. I remember one of them trying to pronounce Northampton. It came out as 鈥楴orporteeperton.鈥� He wanted us to get cigarettes for him and he liked 鈥楪ufflack鈥� (Gold Flake.)

I don鈥檛 ever remember being bored during the war. There was always something interesting, perhaps a bit worrying, going on, and the spirit of all being in it together was tremendous. I believe it did quite as much or more to 鈥榚ducate鈥� me as school did.

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