大象传媒

May Earl

During the war I lived in Keighley and worked in Smith鈥檚 ammunition factory, working on the bayonets. The thing I remember most is the blackout and especially having to walk to work because there was no transport and my only light was provided by a small torch. However, the greatest restriction on life was definitely the the lack of food and rationing, even soap could only be purchased with coupons. I couldn鈥檛 eat the dried egg substitute that had replaced natural eggs, and sponge cakes also had to be made differently. They were made without fat and unlike normal sponge cakes had to be left to stand overnight before being cooked.

My life was very nearly ended by the war whilst working with the munitions, when one of the two grindstones we were working with had not been screwed on properly. Luckily the fault was noticed, preventing it from coming off and killing us. Father also injured himself, whilst working night shifts when he walked into a wall because of the blackout.

My entire family were involved in the war in one way or another. My father worked as a moulder, whilst mother remained at home. One sister made paper tubes for bombs and the other worked in the mills. Sadly, my brother was killed whilst working in the mines in Doncaster, and my cousin was killed while on active service in Burma aged 21.

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