WWII Experiences (cont) -

Yes, we lived through many nights (and days) of bombings, sometimes to go outside and find a house just down the street from us no longer existed or it was in shambles. We could hear the sounds of the "buzz bombs" and knew that as long as we could hear their motors we were OK but when the sound stopped - better duck for cover! Many times in the middle of the night Daddy would come to get me to take me to the bomb shelter and I would pretend to be asleep (I'm sure he knew better).

At school (Cherry Lane in the town of West Drayton, Middlesex), we were taught to duck under the school desk for cover when the warning siren went off (funny story about that later). We always carried our gas masks in a little canvas bag hung over our shoulder - EVERYONE had one.

During those war years, the British Government took all the available metal from every source possible, including metal gates and fences around homes and even cooking pans and etc. from the kitchens as the metals were needed to make armaments - we were only left with absolute ESSENTIALS.

Yes the "good old days" with no telephones nor TV (until early 1950's), rationing of food and gas (even after the war ended), hardly any one had a car, we all rode our bicycles everywhere. I never realized just how much my parents sacrificed for me until I was older and learned how to bake a cake (no such thing as a cake mix then) and it took TWO eggs and sugar! I remember that our ration of eggs was ONE egg per person per week (I know I didn't go without mine), I don't know what the sugar ration was, (I'm sure it wasn't much) - and yet on my birthday - there was always a BIRTHDAY CAKE!