This week Marion tells us about the early days of World War II

This week I would like to take you back to September 3, 1939, the day England declared war on Germany.

I was nearly seven years of age and I remember it clearly - being called in from play and listening to a man on the radio.

I didn’t understand it but I knew something was wrong.

Mum and gran were just sitting there in their aprons and Dad wasn’t joking as usual.

When the man finished talking Dad said it was going to be a bad do this time and granfer said he thought the last war had been fought to end all wars.

Dad then said to granfer “Right, better get the blackout up then”- and I realised why mum had bought all that horrid black material.

Then they taped up the windows.

Mum said something about our food being rationed - and I must admit that is one of the worst things about having ‘little pitchers’ (ears)

If I kept quiet sometimes mum forgot I was there - but then, of course, I couldn’t ask any questions.

Gran said we would be OK – we managed in the last war and we would manage in this one - but better get a few tins in.

I wondered if we were going to starve.

I expect you have all gathered by now filling my tummy was quite important to me!

I hated the blackout.

We had a street lamp outside our house and even when all the adults came to bed my bedroom was never completely dark until now.

As I grew older I realised all the preparation that had gone on already.

We had gas masks hanging up in the hall, all in their own cases, - and we had tried them on.

I usually forgot mine when I went to school - at least in the beginning.

Before Christmas we also had ration books and identity cards.

We had identity cards long after the war - right up to February 1952 in fact - and I can’t see much wrong having with them as long as the government pays.

And then, oddly enough, everything settled down and we just carried on as normal.

I don’t even remember talking about any of this to my little friends. January 1940 rationing was introduced.

Mum had registered our ration books with the Co-operative store at Filwood Broadway.

I liked going there because when the assistants added up the bill they put it, along with mum’s money, in a little cup which then flew up a wire to the cashier.

He then put the change and receipt in the cup and sent it back down.

The first items to go on ration were bacon, ham, butter and sugar.

The bacon was sliced in front of us - usually streaky bacon - the butter was cut from big blocks and patted into place before being wrapped in greaseproof paper.

Cheese came in a big wheel which the assistant cut by putting a wire with two handles over the cheese and then pulling the wires.

Two weeks later meat was rationed and in July tea so was tea.

Mum always bought Co-op 99 (no Earl Grey in those days - not for the likes of us anyway) and cooking fat.

Mum received a Co-op ‘divvy’-a dividend paid for shopping there

It was typical of Mum that, without telling us, she opened savings accounts for us all with the ‘divvy’ but never took a penny for herself.

Mum bought margarine as a substitute for butter which I really disliked so I preferred to go without if I couldn’t have butter.

Luckily bread wasn’t rationed and so I used it to make sandwiches - jam, meat paste or crab paste.

There was another substitute food - dried egg - which I loved.

Mixd it, fry it, and slap it between two pieces of bread.

It was lovely.

Mind you, much to my husband’s disapproval I still make sandwiches - chip butties or fish finger butties, plus anything else I can think of.

And we also recycled, putting our waste food in pig bins which were attached to lampposts.

Why ‘pig’ bins?

Well, because the waste food was used to feed pigs - and I believe poultry.

Dad already grew vegetables and fruit in the back garden but now he also dug up the side garden as well.

Everybody had to dig for victory.

We had an Anderson shelter in our back garden which we only used it once before changing to Connaught Road school shelter which was where we were when the school was bombed.

But I am getting ahead of myself.

The first Blitz was yet to come - but that was after the tragedy of granfer Milkins death.

See you next week,Marion.