Longstone Local History Group - Edna Beresford's war memories

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Louise Treloar of the ‘Action Desk — Sheffield’ Team from Mrs Hilary Clarke on behalf of the Longstone Local History Group, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

The memories are taken from a special edition of a newsletter kindly submitted by Longstone Local History Group. It was edited by Liz Greenfield and published in Autumn 2002. Longstone was a village which sheltered evacuees and was comparatively unaffected by air attack, although the night sky was often lit by the fires of the Sheffield Blitz.

(Hilary Clarke talked to Mrs Beresford and wrote this extract)

Edna Beresford was 19 when war broke out. She was working for Mr Dawson, the village butcher. Previously she worked as an overlooker at Miss Frost’s dress factory near Bakewell Station. She learnt to drive and delivered meat with Mr Dawson to the surrounding villages of Eyam, Calver, Litton, Cressbrook, Rowland, Little Longstone and Monsal Head. He often kept her waiting whilst he chatted to the customers. Every Saturday he gave her a butcher’s breakfast, which her dad ate on Sunday mornings. Her father worked on the railway at Rowsley sidings and got there by bicycle. Edna and her pals also used their bikes when they went to the dances or the cinema in Bakewell. If late back from the dances, they crept in so that their parents wouldn’t hear them!

Her father was in the Home Guard and did manoeuvres on the moor.

Pr-BR

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