George Street East - Their Past Your Future (sitios de interés)
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I was aged eight and a half at the start of the war. My Father, aged thirty five, was sent to work in a sugar beet factory in Yorkshire. For this he was paid 18-6d per day for a twelve hour shift along with £I.4s per week lodging allowance. He could travel home on a travel warrant once every three weeks. I was second eldest in a family of seven. We lived in 5 George Street East in Silksworth, opposite the Miners’ Hall. We attended St Leonard’s Catholic school. Before he left for Yorkshire my father built an Anderson shelter in our garden. I can’t ever remember using it. Instead we would go under the stairs or under the table in our home. The shelter was used as a gang hut; we even tried cooking chips using a candle in the Anderson.
When the sugar beet season was over my father returned home. He was told there was a job available in Erdington, Birmingham, which he took. This paid £16 a week. Here he made friends with “Tot” Jopling, originally from Hordern. Late in 1941 the whole family moved to Erdington where we moved in with Mr and Mrs Jopling, their eight children and two lodgers. Luckily they had a three-storey house, which was in Cecil road. While the railways were delivering our furniture and personal effects I noticed a female railway worker opening our chest of drawers. Later my mother found some of our clothes were missing. The Police were called in and the girl’s home was searched. Our missing clothes were found. She later went to court and I was awarded one shilling for being vigilant. We got our own home in Cecil road. The children younger than fourteen went to St Mary and John’s school in Gravelly. My elder brother was sent to St Thomas’ at the other end of the village. Earlier my mother had sent six of us to the cinema at Silksworth for a total cost of fourpence; in Erdington it cost us fourpence each.
During the war shopping became quite an experience. We were rationed, which meant each person was allowed a limited amount of items. This included foodstuff such as fat, tea and bacon. The points system was in operation, with tinned fruit costing extra. It was possible to get clothing vouchers from Irishmen who went home to Southern Ireland to get their own clothes.
After two years in Cecil road we were offered a three-bedroom house in Erdington. This was owned by the Catholic Church. After his shift at work my father was required to do extra hours “Firewatching.” Once or twice he brought home parts of incendiary bombs. At this time coal was very scarce. We were able to get to fuel from Aston Gas Works. Every Saturday morning from 9am to 12pm people were allowed ¼ of a cut of coke. My father took my brothers Jim, Harry, Donald and myself to the gasworks. We left home at 5 am and walked to the works, which usually took one hour. We were never first in the queue. Once we had the coke, Harry and Donald were sent home on the tram, whilst Jim and I, along with my father, pulled the fuel home on a summer sledge.
Clothing coupons were used to obtain shoes as well as clothes. Unfortunately, however, I wore out my shoes so quickly my parents decided I would have to wear clogs.
Aged thirteen I became a paperboy. I delivered mornings, evenings as well as Sunday mornings. I was paid 13s/6d. My employer gave me all the Sunday papers and magazines that he could not sell. These I took up to the army camp in Erdington to sell and I was allowed to keep all the profit for myself.
Two days before VE day I started work myself at ICI in Witton Birmingham. I cycled five miles to to get there and my working week was 47 hours. I was paid £1-2s-8d. We were given two days off for VE day.