大象传媒

I was born in 1933 and lived midway between Wrexham and Chester but my grandparents lived in Erin on the Isle of Man. During the war the whole of Erin was surrounded by barbed wire because it was an internment camp. Every summer holiday we visited my grandparents in Erin and we had to have a special permit that allowed us in and out of the town. I've still got the original today.
We always looked forward to coming on holiday to the Isle of Man and as a child I used to store up any sweets I could get to eat during the summer holidays.
We used to get the ferry from Liverpool but later in the war it went from Fleetwood. It seemed a long journey and my memory is that it was at night. They gave us lifejackets to wear when we went on board. They were the old-fashioned sort made out of cork to keep you afloat.
At home we used to have hens and one trip we brought some across to the island on the ferry- there was nobody to leave them with at home. And we'd have a big pram and we'd put all our luggage on the pram.
Next door to us in Erin were 3 german ladies and they made a toy giraffe for my younger sister.
I'm sure we must have gone on the beach but I'm not entirely sure because I know that beaches in England were out of bounds and cordoned off with barbed wire. My father was a teacher so we would spend all of our summer holidays on the Isle of Man. Although it was the war - at that age- all I was aware of was being on holiday and I enjoyed it very much.

This story has been submitted to the Peoples War site by Rupert Creed on behalf of Anne Costain and has been added with her permission. The author is fully aware of the site's terms and conditions

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