Browse Items (338 total)

  • Tags: childhood in wartime

MCarterRH[DoB]-150629-080001.jpg
Notes that children had shared hardship and should be proud of their effort. Signed 'George RI'. On the reverse 'Important War dates' with table of dates fro 1939-1945.

PBeechH1701.jpg
Harold Beech in railway worker’s uniform, with peaked cap, standing in front of a level crossing gate at Snelland railway station. On the left is a signal box and behind him, alongside the two rail tracks, is a semaphore railway signal. Harold…

PBeechH1702.jpg
Mary Brophy, in summer dress, is sitting on a brick wall; behind the wall is a hedge and tree in full foliage and in front of the wall a grass verge. Mary Brophy remained in the village after the war to go to grammar school. Captioned 'Mary Brophy.…

PBeechH1704.jpg
Twelve shapes of Hampdens are arranged in four rows and three columns, some have been coloured. Drawn by Harold Beech, aged 8.

Additional information about this item has been kindly provided by the donor.

AMarianiE171209.mp3
Enrica Mariani recollects her wartime experiences in Milan: her brother dying of bronchitis after spending too much time in the shelter and her father working in an armaments factory. The aggressive fascist militiamen and the long hours she spent in…

AKohlerH170303.mp3
Helmut Köhler (b. 1928) recalls his wartime experience as Luftwaffenhelfer. He provides a first-hand account of two attacks on Kassel, the first on the 22 October 1943 and the second in March 1944. He describes his time spent inside the air-raid…

ADraegertH180209.mp3
Hubert Draegert remembers his wartime experiences, first in Berlin and then as an evacuee at his uncle’s farm near Wroclaw. He mentions the bombing of the Berlin State Opera and the repeated efforts made to rebuild the gutted building. He remembers…

PWrightJ1540.jpg
Jim Wright was born in 1932. He was evacuated from West Ham during the Second World War along with his mother and two brothers. His father joined the Royal Air Force as an Observer Bomb Aimer with 207 Squadron. His aircraft was shot down over…

ABeechH160924.mp3
Harold Beech was born in Middle Rasen, Lincolnshire. He was six when war was declared and saw the construction of many airfields near his home. As a schoolboy he also watched aircraft being transported on the back of Queen Marys. A lodger with his…

ABeechH170302.mp3
Harold Beech could see the activity of several airfields and witnessed stricken aircraft flying back to stations near his home. He also witnessed a crash and describes how he hid in a Lancaster, with the help of the engineer who was billeted with his…

AAn01134-170717.mp3
She tells of her life in Berlin before, during and after the war. She lived with her mother in a block of flats close to the home of her grandparents. Her father died when she was nine years old. During the war she collected shrapnel as souvenirs…

PBrewsterDG1602.jpg
David Brewster grew up in Alford, and has memories of watching the Luftwaffe bombing convoys at sea, a dog fight and watching bombers take off from RAF Strubby and RAF East Kirkby.

ACooperFA170810.mp3
Frances Cooper spent her early life in Uganda before settling with her parents in England for her schooling, then joining the WAAF. She speaks about the small village she lived in during the war, the arrival of Americans and prisoners of war, as well…

ADorricottR151007.mp3
Rosemary Dorricott is the widow of Leonard William Dorricott DFM. During the war years she was a young child in Skegness. She was six years old when war broke out. She recalls the air raids on the town and the rationing and blackouts that became a…

AHutsonB171030.mp3
Brian Hutson was a child during the war. He remembers his father, who worked on building airfields and delivering air raid shelters. He also recalls his childhood, sleeping in a shelter and listening to aircraft, air raids, blackouts, playing with…

AStavesS160423.mp3
During the war Sheena lived in Cottingham, a village close to Hull. She lived with her mother and father (who was a fire watcher). He fought in the Far East during the first world war. She had two elder brothers, one in the Navy and one in the Royal…

PTaylorE1703.jpg
Edith Taylor (née Tate) grew up in Manchester and experienced the bombing of Manchester. When the war started, Edith, her mother and two siblings, were evacuated to Leek. Edith was separated from Dorothy and her mother. Billy and Edith had two…

AWarwickT170322.mp3
Thea Warwick was seven years old and living in Rotterdam during the war. She recounts what is was like during the Hongerwinter. Walking for miles to soup kitchens and talks about other examples of how they obtained food. They moved into the…

PWrightJ1540.jpg
John Wright was born in 1932. He was evacuated from West Ham during the War along with his Mother and two Brothers. Johns’ Father joined the Royal Air Force as an Observer Bomb Aimer with 207 Squadron. His aircraft was shot down over Switzerland on…

AJahnichenW180314.mp3
Wolfgang Jähnichen recollects being a five-year-old boy in Dresden at the time of the 13 February 1945 bombing. Gives a vivid account of the attack and recounts various episodes: the time spent with his mother in the cellar used as air raid shelter,…

PSamoreT1801.jpg
Tito Samorè recalls wartime memories in Milan, when he was a member of the Balilla youth organisation. He remembers the outbreak of war and its announcement on the radio. Tito describes the first bombing of Milan in 1940, stressing how easy it was…

PPirovanoG1701.jpg
Giuseppe Pirovano describes wartime memories as schoolboy at Affori, a Milan neighbourhood, and daily life in fascist youth organisations, with regimented schooling and political rallies. He talks about children’s games and pastimes, such as…

PBriggsR1622.jpg
Ceramic tile commemorating Operation Manna. A woman holding a child's hand is waving a handkerchief. the child is waving a Dutch flag. Two aircraft are flying over dropping food. At the bottom the caption reads 'Voedsel-Vrede-Vrijheid 29 April . 1945…

PCavalierRG17010056.jpg
Photograph 1 is of non-commissioned officers supervising children at a Christmas Party, captioned 'Christmas Party for the children of Vitroy [sic] en Artois and surrounding villages, in the village hall, Vitroy [sic] en Artois, given by R.A.F. 137…

AEssigD180320.mp3
Dieter Essig recalls the Pforzheim bombing on 23 February 1945, which he witnessed at the age of six. He talks about the long hours he spent inside a shelter, describing his wartime years as a wasted childhood. He recalls the bombing on 1 April 1944,…
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