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Interview with Margaret Irene Maxwell
Margaret was almost 12 years old and living in Romford, Essex at the outbreak of World War Two. She remembers the announcement being made by Neville Chamberlain on the radio on 3 September 1939. Margaret recalls being issued with a gas mask, and how…
Interview with Margaret Ottaway
Margaret Ottaway lived in Louth, the sixth of seven children, and tells of her childhood there. Tells of an air raid shelter they had in the house. Witnessed, as a seven year old, an enemy air raid on 19 February 1941, which caused damage and…
Interview with Margarete Meyer
Margarete Meyer (b. 1936) describes the Dresden bombing, 13 February 1945, and recalls how her mother reacted to the alarm. She rushed to the shelter and took some belongings, including what she thought was her confirmation dress. Margarete explains…
Interview with Margherita Franco
Margherita Franco (b. 1934) remembers listening to the declaration of war on the radio while her father kept working in the garden. She describes her mother preparing a bag with food and other necessities and hanging heavy curtains at the windows as…
Interview with Maria Caterina Siccardi
Maria Caterina Siccardi (b. 1924) remembers attending the funeral of a young soldier and her fear of being bombed. She also describes the makeshift shelter her grandfather built and how she rushed to take shelter in it every time an aircraft…
Interview with Maria Grazia Camperi
Maria Grazia Camperi (b. 1923) recalls how people used to take shelter in railway tunnels, standing on narrow walkways along the track. She stresses how dangerous this was and recalls the sight of people being killed or mutilated by passing trains.…
Interview with Maria Luisa Verniconi
Maria Luisa Verniconi (b. 1930) recalls her youth in wartime, describing how difficult it was for her mother to look after the family. She recollects adults listening to Radio Londra while the youths were on lookout. She recalls the violent behaviour…
Interview with Maria Malagni
Maria Malagni (b. 1921) remembers her difficult childhood and chequered schooling history. She recalls wartime episodes: the death of her fiancé, an airman shot down over Brindisi; fascists seizing supplies; the capture of two partisans that her…
Interview with Maria Teresa Boazzelli
Maria Teresa Boazzelli describes the bombing of Frascati on 8 September 1943 and provides an account of life inside an improvised shelter: people praying and screaming after explosions. She explains how the Germans had been expecting the bombing and…
Interview with Mariagrazia Sinigo Petrina
Mariagrazia Sinigo Petrina recollects her childhood in Trieste and describes hardships during the war. Her father enlisted in the Italian navy while she lived with her mother and grandmother. She describes how difficult it was to find food and…
Interview with Marian Hollier
Marion Hollier served as a wireless operator in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force from February 1944 to September 1946. Before the war she worked in a construction firm, The George Wimpey Company, which built aerodromes. She learned the Morse code in…
Interview with Mariannina Di Palma
Mariannina Di Palma (b. 1925) recalls the rush to safety when the air-raid siren sounded. She recalls that, on one occasion, she still had a dish cloth in her hand when she got to the shelter. Mariannina also remembers that her mother used to take…
Interview with Marina Zucco
Marina Zucco recalls wartime memories in Monfalcone: how her father rented a flat conveniently located above a shelter, in which they remained for hours eating food they had brought from home; the day the “all clear” sounded, immediately before a…
Interview with Marino Ferrari
Marino Ferrari recalls his early life as an engineer at Pavia arsenal, and later in Catanzaro and Verona. He describes his life as an Italian military internee in East Prussia, working in different lumberyards. Marino speaks with affection of the…
Interview with Mario Cocco
Mario Cocco (b. 1938) remembers the Tirso dam being torpedoed, emphasising its beauty and meaning as an engineering marvel. He describes how a torpedo net prevented three torpedoes from reaching their target. He gives a detailed account of the…
Interview with Mario Commisso
Mario Commisso remembers his early years when he lived in the Codroipo area, close to the Rivolto air base. He recalls his brother being born on 28 February 1941, during a severe bombing raid during which the bombers were attacked by anti-aircraft…
Interview with Mario Galardini
L’intervistato è Mario Galardini, nato a Castel di Casio (BO) il 15 agosto 1923, consulente del lavoro. Interviene il fratello Raffaello, sono presenti Lory Galardini e Annalia Galardini. L’intervista è effettuata da Claudio Rosati presso la…
Interview with Mario Miniussi
Mario Miniussi recalls Monfalcone night bombing on 18 March 1944. He was sleeping when the siren sounded and then saw the bombs falling on the shipyard, causing explosions and fires. He remembers how he was normally at school during alarms, so he and…
Interview with Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson reminisces about John Blair. He discusses family life in rural Jamaica as a mixed-ethnicity person, highly respected by everyone. He was a qualified teacher, a lawyer, and a farmer. Reminisces other Caribbeans who volunteered and served…
Interview with Marta Papotti
Marta Papotti (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Turin and how she and her family dashed to the shelter in the basement. She recalls the sense of community and describes people reciting the rosary or just chatting. She describes how her father, the…
Interview with Martin Arthur Catty
Martin Catty grew up in London and was evacuated, with his school, to Westward Ho! at the beginning of the war. He completed a short training course at Cambridge University in 1942 and joined the Royal Air Force. After training, he flew 40…
Interview with Martin Edwards
Martin Edwards recounts the war-time stories of his father, Frederick Edwards. Frederick was born in Kent in 1923, and lived on the family farm. He joined the RAF in 1943 as was posted to Canada for training as a navigator. On his return to England,…
Interview with Mary Stopes-Roe
Discusses her father’s designs work and remembers both skipping stones on a river during holidays with her father and catapulting marbles over a washtub in their garden. She goes on to discuss the Eder Möhne and Sorpe operation, the bouncing bomb…
Interview with Mary Stuart
Mary Stuart, nee Atkins, was the youngest of nine children who, during the Second World War, lived on the island of Malta. She tells of her love of aviation and how she spent time on the roof of her house when Spitfires flew over. Mary recollects…
Interview with Mary Ward. One
Mary Ward grew up in Bloxham. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in 1940 and was posted to RAF Driffield, on general duties in the officers’ mess. She describes a German daylight attack on RAF Driffield on the 15 August 1940 and the…