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When I was Young - Kenneth Beat
Final Section
Part 41
I remember when the local council first delivered the Anderson shelters. at least two men in the street came and helped My Dad dig the foundations and erect the thing in our garden....Then Dad went and helped each one of them to build their`s.... this was late 1939..
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People would (Later on ) grow flowers in the earth piled around and over the shelters.......These shelter`s were very prone to flood to 2 feet deep when it rained heavily......but there were 4 bunks in ours so we just kept to the bunks, whe the bombers came over. One night in 1940 tthe alslear sounded and we all emerged from our shelter, only to find that not more than 3 miles away tyhe searchlights had a german bomber in the cross of their lights and were shelling him relentlessly, Dad said back in the shelter for a few more minutes........I slipped and ended up standing in 18" of cold water.......
The next day, the civil; defence people told Mam, that all our windows must be taped up....like this...
..and every curtain had to be thick enough to stop any light from showing through....Mam went to the army surplus stores and got three old army blankets dyed them navy blue, and put them on sliders to be able to close when it got dark....
The ration books were in ful swing.....here`s a sample
The clothes coupons Mam saved up so that she had enough to get our things we needed......But there was a lot of make do and mend.......I can remember Mam painting stocking make up on her legs....with a mark down the back that I painted for her, for it obviously was too awkward for her to do it, and get it straight, to look like a seam, I mean.
for silk stockings were a luxury in those days, for the ladies....Dad joined the home Guard....and one day brought a stirrup pump and a new bucket....and we were told .. "That`s in case the house catches fire with the bombing"
incendery bombs I think he meant.......
The biggest thing to us kids was, a very meagre sweets ration, indeed....which on reflection did`nt do our teeth any harm at all......It seemed to me then, that everything was scarce no matter what one was looking for.......Then the fags became hard to buy.......I remember many little corner shops with "NO CIGARETTES" Notice in the window..
The British Restaunt, opened up, on Felling high street. and our Mam would take Audrey and me for our dinners there twice a week. when she could afford to...the meals were very basic but I for one , enjoyed my dinner`s there.
PART 42..Well friends...I`ve had a very full and enjoyable life thinking back now, as colourful as many other people of my age, have enjoyed........Times were hard, cash wise , for just about everyone in the two streets....
When it was decided to pull our houses down, with the local council building houses in all the fields around, where we had played for years, all our little community was shredded........years later our Mam said...."You know what Kenneth, take people out of the terraced houses, and build pairs of semi`s with 6 feet between them ..... Then all the neighbour feeling and community feelings are Lost, How right Mam was then........
We were in our early teens when we had a new house---GARDENS BACK AND FRONT with...."BATHROOM------INSIDE TOILET----SEPARATE DINNING ROOM----SITTING ROOM----CENTRAL HEATING----.............BUT WITH ALL THIS LUXURY , Mam missed the everyday life, when everyone knew everyone`s business....but it did`nt seem to matter...
When, if a wife was ill....she could depend on someone in the street, to see to the kids etc. Both Audrey and I really enjoyed both of our grandparents very much, and they played a big part of our growing up, especially during the early war years.........
When the first air raid shelters were delivered...and Dad and two neighbours built them in our gardens.I`ve been back to where our terraced houses stood and took two photos.....indicating where they stood....etc
AH! Yes friends.... experiences---people------friends------life-----times that will never return...............But the memories live on, when I remember ..WHEN I WAS YOUNG....Bless you all. every one.....Kenneth
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