Interview with my Aunt

This is a necropost. It was written in 1995 - presumably for a GCSE History assignment. I found it recently on a backup disk. As far as possible I've preserved the original spelling and formatting. I think we had been asked to interview someone about their experiences of the second world war. My great uncle had written a book about his time in the army but, ever the contrarian, I decided to interview my great aunt instead. She lived a full and interesting life - and I frequently miss her.

"Hello dear, would you like some cake or a drink?" Are the first words I receive before even asking my planed out questions. I decline the offer.

"I remember," she begins when questioned about the war, "I was about eleven years old, I was in Needham Market at the time when we hear that we were at war with Germany. It was quite a shock even though we were expecting it."

When asking about evacuation, this short but strong willed lady went slightly quiet, "My mother had died about two weeks before war was announced and the family was in turmoil, it was a welcome relief for me, my parents and my siblings just to get away from the tragedy. Unfortunately we were all sent to different homes on the south cost. This was unfortunate because 3 months later I was sent home because of fear of invasion. I wouldn't say I enjoyed evacuation, no, but I didn't find it that bad. After being sent home I was evacuated once more. This time I was not so happy with my new family, I just missed my father and sisters too much. I came home two weeks later.

I began probing about the bombing raids, living in the middle of London must have been pretty horrific.

"Luckily we never got personally bombed out, although once our windows imploded and I got a lot of glass in my back, once a couple of incendiary devices landed in our garden. Most of our lives were spent in the shelter either in the garden or in the cellar. Because of the war and the fact that schools were shut and I didn't want to go to the factories I began secretarial work. One day our office was almost hit by a V1. It was very frightening, once we got out my boss gave me my first brandy and my first cigarette!

The worst part about living in London? Everything! You could only travel by buses there was no night life, every thing was blacked out. There was a dreadful lack of food and clothes. I remember having to save all the potato peelings and suchlike to send away to feed the animals."

"Being Jewish must have affected you." I asked.
"No, no it didn't; people were to busy worrying about the war to worry about race, it also meant that we could swap our bacon ration for other foodstuffs. My father was affected because he had been brought to England from Russia when he was little, because when war broke out Russia was neutral my Father had to be issued with alien papers and his movements were restricted, as soon as Russia entered the war every thing was fine and he was no longer thought a threat."

Of course I had to ask about V.E. Day.
"We knew it was coming, it was a question of when. In the end although we all went to Trafalgar Square it was a bit of an anti-climax; there was still a shortage of food and clothes and the soldiers still weren't back."

"And finally," I asked "What was your greatest memory of the war."
"The moral," she said instantly "The moral was very high, we always thought we were going to win and Churchill's speeches made us sure."