Birmingham and West Midlands

A Schoolgirl Evacuee finds Happiness in Stratford

We got quite a lot of close bombing in Birmingham, because at the bottom of the road where I lived was...

Geraldine's Memories

My Dad was an agent for the Britannic Assurance Company so Mom took on his job and because of that I...

War Memories of John Percival

We lived with my grandmother in Northampton prior to going to Birmingham and I well remember the process of...

Wartime in Birmingham

Birmingham was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. One thing that sticks in my mind is hearing the whoomph!...

From Here....To There #4

Forgive One Another

No bombing took place at first and my parents` decision to take me home to Birmingham after only three...

'My Best Years in England' - an Indian's War in Birmingham

Born near Lahore when it was part of British India, Mohamed Sharif came to England via Venice in the 1930s,...

Evacuated to Worthington

Because we lived in Aston, an inner city area of Birmingham, there were lots of factories around and during...

The Day My Numbers Came Up

I had a very happy life; my elder brother was in the Army stationed at Woolwich and my younger brother was...

Wartime Experiences: Evacuation, the Luftwaffe, and Disrupted Education

Immediately following the outbreak of war and heeding government advice my mother self-evacuated my sister...

As I Remember as a Boy in Bomb Alley

Night after night the German bombers came over, their targets being the Woolwich Arsenal and the docks, we...

Wartime Memories of a Parachutist

I eventually landed by ship in Oran, North Africa, for strenuous training prior to the invasion of Italy....

Growing Up during the War

Another plan was put into action whereby we, the older girls each had to take two younger children out of...

Recollections of a Child on the Home Front During WW2

When I learned that Wolverhampton airport at Pendeford had been designated an elementary Flying Training...

Grandad's Tomatoes

A lasting memory of my beloved grandfather floods back every time I smell a tomato....

Laughter Through Sadness

Sometimes we were followed from Birmingham to Kingsbury station by German planes shooting bullets. It was...

Memories of Gunner Dennis Nash

After a few months I left there and began an apprenticeship at Accles and Pollock in Oldbury, another...

The Defence Medal

My father was awarded the Defence Medal for 6 years service in the Auxiliary and National Fire Service...

Evacuated to Ireland

A. No there was just My Mom and Dad, my brother Jack and I. When I was 6 I was evacuated to...

A Teenager in Wartime England

Reaching the age of eighteen, my employer's pleas for exemption from wartime service were rejected by...

My Memories Of The Second World War Years

Then my Mother got a job as a usherett at the Odeon Cinema in Sutton Coldfield. Straight from school I had...

Memories of Wartime Sparkhill, Birmingham

On her birth certificate it was St. Johns Road, Sparkhill in the parish of Yardley in the county of...

The Friend Family War - Domestic Life and Trials

Walter and Jessie Friend lived in Harrow with their young son Derek. Jessie received notification of...

A Normal Life: Childhood Memories in Birmingham

My Aunt and Uncle lived with Grandad because they had been 'bombed out'It was talked about as a...

A Letter to my Daddy on VE Day

There were long tables set up down the middle of the street, and everything you could have wished for was...

Two evacuees: Birmingham to Minchinhampton

Auntie Eva used to bake, bottle and make jam and wine and the most delicious fruit juice, that stood in a...