THE OLDEST TWINS
The end of the war was announced on the radio, which our parents rented because we had hardly any money.
At first we were so relieved but everyone was worried in case it started again or another war broke out. We lived in the Black Country, and worked in a factory. Even during the war we went to work each day, carrying our gas masks and ID cards. Everything was rationed. We had coupons for food, clothes, furniture. Times
HARD TIMES Lil and Doris. Left, Lil in war were hard but we got through it. When we came home from work we would hear the sirens and had to go straight to the shelter in our garden.
We used to sit there frightened while we heard the loud planes overhead. Our father was a firefighter looking after the streets to make sure everyone was safe. Doris had recently got married and her husband, Ray, was called up – he was a private in the Army and away for two years and eight months. When he went away he had a full head of hair. He came back bald and it never grew back.
Towards the end of the war, a bomb went off just behind where we lived. It shook all the houses.
Our mam was shouting: “Arrrrh, my bloody mantle is broken!”
But we later learned that bomb killed three children and a doctor. When we heard the war had finally ended we were able to relax a little and start living our lives.