General Chat

It has been known for elderly people to go into schools and give their memories particulatly through WW2.

What a great thread, so many interesting additions.

My first memory of the war would be when, just having had my 6th birthday and on holiday in a caravan just outside Skegness, my sisters gave me some money and asked me to go to the local shop to get them some sweets. THe shop was on a corner just across the main road, which I was just about to cross, when I noticed this large lorry parked outside the shop on a side road.
The back of the lorry was open and I could see men in there with the most frightening faces, and I just turned and ran, back to the safety of our caravan, crying to my sisters that I had seen monsters. After being accused of making it up so that I didn't have to go all the way to the shop, my sisters who were 14 and 16 at the time went to have a look for themselves. What I had seen were young soldiers trying on their gas masks.!!!


As for rationing, I remember that with our butter ration, dad usedt to mix a little milk in with it to make it go further.
Many is the time I was roped in to make firelighters out of newspapers.

At the age of 8 I was in hospital for 3 or 4 weeks and in those das it was thought better for the children if they weren't upset by visits from mums and dads. I remember mum sending me a letter saying she had brought some oranges to the hospital for me, but all I saw of them were the skins with a little of the flesh attached after they had been squeezed so that the fresh juice could be given to the diabetic patients. I remember feeling quite indignant about that.

Must have a llittle think and see if there any other memories I can dredge up.

Norah

Last year my granddaughter had to dress up as an evacutee. My daughter-in-law left it to me to find her something to wear. In a charity shop I found a woollen cardigan shrunk by washing in too hot water which I thought would be ideal and a crochet beret. I made her a name tag out of brown paper which I attached to the cardigan with string and a safety pin and I made her a cardboard box which would have housed a gas mask. My piece de resistance was a ration book. Via the internet I found the image of an adult (beige) ration book, I bought a green folder (about 20p) in a shade of green which I thought was about right for a child's ration book, I didn't know if it would work but I managed to print off the front and back pages, I printed a few pages of coupons for the inside, stapled them together and her teachers thought it was the genuine article (as if they would know being thirty somethings). Last week my granddaughter came come with quite explicit instructions for building an Anderson and a Morrison shelter. She seems to think that they need to dig up the back garden while I am keeping a very low profile!
Maureen

I have enjoyed reading this thread and oh what joy especially as I was born after the war. At last something that I am to `young` to remember. LOL.
On a slightly more serious note I do remember my M.I.L was a great horder and when she died the food was years and years out of date as she hated to throw anything out. She was living in Germany as a young girl during the war years so it did effect both sides of the civilian population.

Marianne.

Before the war,my maternal gran and granddad had a corner shop,but gave it up just before the war started.In their cellar they had tins of corned beef etc,but they also had one of the big cube shaped biscuit tins full of fireworks,little things that looked like a small crayon (bangers)
I've since thought,what if they had been hit by a bomb,the whole place would have gone up!
We let them off when the war ended,and they still worked!
Think I had some to go to the bonfire on V E night where our guy on top was Hitler.
Who remembers Lord Haw Haw giving his broadcasts on the radio with his propaganda?

Brenda

a nudge for those,now living abroad who might like to contribute,

Ah......another memory....

Aged around 8 or 9 years, i stumbled downstairs one dark winter morning, opened the living room door to find my mum just putting a packet of sandwiches (snap) into my brother's pocket, just as he was putting his scarf round his neck.
"Oh mum" I shouted "why didn't you get me up, I'll be late for school"
"Don't be silly" came the reply "Its night-time, now you just go back to bed"
My brother Norman who would have been about 18/19 was getting ready to go on his fire-watching duties, but still having to go to work the next day.
It was around this time that he contacted TB and died at the age of 22.

Norah

Trams, Trolley Buses, Breadmen delivering with hand carts that looked a bit like a Sedan chair with wheels, Milkmen with horse & carts, Rag & bone men with horse & carts, The Dupont Rep coming to collect the payments for clothes bought on the never-never (hire purchase), the Insurance Man from the PRU, the local Black Market Spiv (never left on the doorstep)

Walking 2 miles to School, running 2 miles home at lunchtime, running back to School and walking back (at a slow pace) home at 4 oclock, but usually via the Thames to watch all the Tugs bringing and taking away Lighters full of all sorts of things, Timber, Carbon Black for Firestones Tyre Factory on the Great West Road, Ammunition etc for the Guns downriver and to be loaded onto ships, rolls of paper & card for Bowater Scotts and much much more

Memories are made of this

Mac

aren't memories just wonderful Mac - that's what I like about this thread and the Childhood Memories thread also - I keep saying we should get them all published

I remember having sugar on bread as Jam was unavailable.
We were lucky as my Grandma gave us a lot of her coupons so we got sweets and extra's with her coupons.

My mother when she could get a tin of salmon mixed it with fine breadcrums so it would go further.

We did have a lot of home made things in those days.
Mum used to make Cornish Pasties with very little meat I might add.
We used to go collecting wild Blackberrry's and Mum would always cook us up a nice Pie with them.
That's when she had the flour and shortening to make it with lol.

Stew and Dumplings was always filling and if you couldn't get meat well you just had Vegetable Stew which I loved anyway.

The milkman came to our house with a horse and cart and you would go out with your Jug and get a Gill of Milk. Cream was hard to get but there was always cream on the top of the milk in those days, Mum used to skim it off the top of the milk and give it to us with Apple Pie. You were lucky if you got a spoonful.

Happy days though and I wouldn't swap the memories for anything

Regards
Jackie

Milk was readily available. We used to have pobs very often(simply bread in hot milk). Milk at school in half pint bottles - threading the paper tops onto string.
Remember making lots of kites with paper, wood and home made (flour) glue.
And lastly, God, those awful school dinners - they really were awful in the early days, but had to be eaten "Don,t you know there,s a war on?"

Happy days.

Was it Brenda?
A MORRISON shelter... been in one and never heard of one.... ha ha ha

Mac I would love to volunteer to help you but I'm just not able any more.
The only thing I am any good at any more is TALKING!!
Now that I could do.... and I love children.

Deanna X

Hey Marion, that is a great idea.

If Mac could have it printed.... edited of course, and we all bought at least one.
The money collected for your museum Mac, would be so very helpful to you.

Deanna X

Yes it was me who said it was a Morrison shelter.
We didn't have one,but an aunt of mine did.
At least you didn't have to go out in the cold to get to it!!!

Question for you Deanna.Were you named after Deanna Durbin?
She had a lovely voice.
Brenda x

Yes I was named after Deanna Durbin.

when I went with my daughter to put her Banns up at the register office, the registrar asked me my name.

I said Deanna... blah blah... and he told me when I was born!!
I was amazed. He said he had been doing the job for about 40 years and names do have fashion... you can tell by the name when the person was born.

Ah well.... good luck the Brooklyn's, peaches, Tigers etc of the world in the future ;-0)

Deanna X

Deanna,
That's better than me.I was named after a HOUSE!!!
My dad chose my name after a house they liked called Berenda.

Brenda x

O.M.G.... Brenda are you kidding?

Never mind.... it could have been Dunroamin...... tee hee , just couldn't resist that Brenda.x

Deanna X

I still have my ration book plus my ID card,had to have one even though I was just a baby, my mothers pass for the air raid Shelter, for the Raleigh Cycle Co; LTD,in Nottinham. but they were not making bikes, I think my mum worked on the parachutes, and did you know that the Raleigh was a prime target for the Germans, so they built a replica in wood a way, away, and it worked, Raleigh didn't get bombed, but my best memory was Christmas, somehow our parents made it magial, with very little, and the worst were those School dinners,

Deanna,
I'm certainly "Dunroamin" now!!!

Brenda x

Ah well, good luck 'dunroamin'.lol

I am too, I will come out of these doors feet first.
I love this little house.... and I WILL NOT BE MOVED! ;-0)

Deanna X