大象传媒

When I start to talk about the war, my Grandchildren say, "oh no not the war again Grandma"

I think the younger generation should know what we as youngsters then, had to go through.

I was five when the war started, My father being in the territorials had already been called up.

Shortly afterwards my brother and I were evacuated to Timpererly of all places, which is now only ten minutes down the motor way from us.

I remember vividly congregating at the school gates with my brother and my mother and all the other family's not knowing what was really going on as my mother had not explained anything to us, I suppose it was just to painful for her.

We all had our gas masks over our shoulder, a label pinned to our coats with our names on. my mothers parting words to my brother was, " hold jean's hand and look after her, he was eight years old. We boarded a double decker bus and waved our crying mother goodbye.

We were billeted with a lady in Timperley who after a day rang the billeting officer and asked for us to be removed as she could not cope with my crying, I wanted my mam.

We were taken to someone else and on the third day my father came home on leave and came to see us. The lady we were billeted with would not let him in the house and made him stand on the front door step. My father was having none of this and said " get your coats I'm taking you home" Great! I couldn't wait to see our mam.

When the air raids first started we had to go down into the cellar. I lived in a row of terraced houses and we were told to knock a hole in the cellar wall, so if we were bombed we could crawl into the cellar next door. We lived at the end house so we could crawl all the way along the row after everyone had knocked down part of their cellar wall.

This did not prove to be enough and in the end when the sirens went we would get up and go to the Oxford hall on Oxford road. It could accommodate about three hundred people, we slept in bunk beds.

When the sirens went my mother would get me up and put me in a Siren suit, an all in one suit that baby's now have, children of all ages wore them then. She would be shouting my brother to get up, she would go down the stairs carrying me thinking that my brother was behind her, only to find when she got to the bottom of the stairs that he had gone back to bed, she would have to go back up th stairs again to get him. I also have to say that my mother was terrified of the sirens and would have many a personal accident.

I can remember standing with a lot of other people at the door of the Oxford Hall, watching the search lights over Manchester.

After one raid,the night of the Manchester blitz, the next morning we came out of the Hall my mother used to have a old trolly that she pushed me about in, it was quicker and easier for her.

As my Mother, Brother and I returned home that morning, a land mine had dropped on our street during the blitz the night before, a direct hit on St John's church at the bottom of our strett. Half the street had gone and our house was the next in line, miraculously still standing but with no doors, windows and half the roof gone. Many friends and neighbours were killed during the raid that night. many did not go into the shelter, thinking they were safe.

Although I was so young I can still see the carnage of the after math of the Manchester blitz. The bombs were out to target Salford docks and Dunlop rubber Company,which we were very close to.

We were housed with relatives for months until our house became habital again.

So the war years went on with us young children not realising the dangers that we had to encounter day after day, or the peril our fathers had to live through in the forces, my father served with Field Marshal Montgomery in the Eight Army and we saw very little of him during the course of the war, in fact he came home safe and sound in 1946,a complete stranger to me.

One of the high lights of the war for me was the American and Candian Forces that were stationd in this country. I thought they were very smart in their uniforms, better than the horrible itchy uniforms our lads had to wear.

I had a Aunt who was twenty when the war started she had a ball with these very handsome looking men. Unfortunately she would never give them her own address for fear of my Grandmother who she lived with, so she used to give my mothers address.

When these soldiers turned up at our house it was my job to take them to my Grandmothers house to see my Aunt. which was quite a distance and I had to take them on the tram to Stevenson Square and then change trams, I always went on the open top deck of the tram, to show off a bit,thought I was quite something with these young soldiers.

As children we were deprived of so much but we didn't realise it at the time, I have good teeth, was it because there was no sweets, if there was the word went round like wildfire and we would run to the shop only to be told the sweets had all gone.

I would queue for five woodbines for my mother, who didn't smoke until the war started. can you imagine a child of my age being sold cigarettes today but this was war years and anything went.

I loved school we had fire drills everyday and took it in our stride, we were sent home to fetch them if we forgot our gas masks and if the sirens went on our way to school we were dragged into the shelter by a warden until the raid was over, did it bother us, not a bit we knew no different. We had such happy times I think people made more of an effort over things because it might be our last birthday our last Christmas.

On Christmas morning, my mother would let us light the candles on our very tatty christmas tree that stood on our sideboard, just for a few minutes, then the candles were blown out to be saved for another time, Yes they were little candles that lasted the whole of the war years. I can't remember much about presents, we had a stocking, that had what ever my Mother could scroung steal or borrow for us, then Christmas morning, we would go to Sunday school for Orange juice a mince pie and a very scuffy book with our name in it, for good attendance, that someone had very kindly donated.

I hope I haven't bored you with my memories, they are so special to me, after the war we tried to settle down to normal life. My parents hardly spoke about the war years especially my father. He just blocked it out of his mind.

Sadly they both died very young, I wonder if the war was just too much for them both.

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