Life during the War

I was 16 when war broke out and I have been working for two years at the Lewis's, a large department store in Birmingham. When rationing came in everyone learned to queue but, even so, if we had something that was off the rations, such as spam, you had to stand well back as you open the door or you might get knocked over in the rush!. It was often difficult to get into work with bomb craters and unexploded bombs after each night's raid and the basement of the store was turned into a hospital for air raid victims, although we were never told just how many were killed and injured.

At home in a Acocks Green, on the outskirts of the city, we had an Anderson shelter in the garden and Auntie Martha, Auntie Aggie and my cousin Muriel used to come out each night, from Sparkbrook which was nearer to the middle of Birmingham. Auntie Martha, in particular, was very nervous and was always first in the shelter, but my mother always stopped in front of the mirror to make sure her hair was straight. One of our neighbours sent her daughter to relatives for safety but unfortunately they lived in Coventry and the poor child was killed. Our windows were blown out several times.

I was at the first-aid post first, then I was part-time in the auxiliary fire service as a telephone operator. I had not been a very long when I was called up. I could either go into a factory or join the services. I wanted to join the W. A. A. F. but they were fulI so I went into the W. R. N. S. (Woman's Royal Naval Service) and was posted to Mill Hill. While I was a trainee I had the job of locking up the evening and one night accidentally locked the chief officer in the sport's room! Shortly after I was transferred to Chatham, then posted to Chelsea, to Shelley House which had been a very smart place and had its own ballroom.

I was very home sick and when I had a sleeping out pass I used to catch the train home in the evening in return on the early morning train. At this time we used to have the doodle bugs in London then the V2 rockets. I was at Vincent Square W. R. N. S. hospital as a telephonist when a doodle bug came down outside and a bit of it went into my leg. When the V2 rockets came down there was little warning except a screech as they came down. I was walking with an officer when the V2 came down nearby and I threw my arms around her. As she was only a small, I knocked her to the ground, so she was nearly save from the V2 only to be squashed by me.

They were many soldiers in the area, Americans, South Africans, Pole's and Rhodesians. We used to meet them at the service clubs. I used to go out with an Afriknna a called Ollie he was very handsome and I took him home to meet my parents several times. He was the commando but, sadly, he was killed in action. On the night peace came I was in the ground outside Buckingham Palace and everyone was going mad, singing and dancing. It was marvellous to see all the lights on after such a longtime in the blackout.

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