Was anyone in your Family a child during WWII?

Discussion in 'General' started by marek_pk, Apr 29, 2006.

  1. marek_pk

    marek_pk Senior Member

    There is a thread “Did any of your Family Serve during WWII …”

    I thought I’d ask, was anyone in your Family a child during WWII.

    Were they evacuated (what sort of sort of ‘adventures’ did they have), what was it like for them, did they live through air raids, were they in labour camps etc. Anything really.

    Marek
     
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Mum and Dad were both born before the War.
    They grew up in Swindon.
    Mum remembers the Air-raid shelter and her baby sister wearing the huge gasmask.Her Dad was too old for active service so was an RAF dog-handler away up-north or Scotland guarding RAF sites.
    Mum also remembers asking the Yanks "Got any gum chum?"
    They were billeted in Drove School I think.
    Next to the County Ground (Swindon Town FC's home) was a Italian POW camp. Mum would be nervous walking past it but they were docile and just wanted someone to talk too.
    She also remembers playing in one of the bomb craters in the County Ground Park.

    My Dad (died earlier this month) used to often visit his Grandparents farm near Lynham. Some of that farmland was requesitioned by the War Dept for what is now RAF Lynham.
    Dad used to go with his Grandad on the horse and cart to the pub in Lynham and look at the Spitfire on the green that would take off if the Luftwaffe came near.(funny to think of that everytime we go past there)
     
  3. Kiwiwriter

    Kiwiwriter Very Senior Member

    She grew up in Manchester, and put up with the continuous bombing. They had an Anderson shelter. Her older brother Ronald was a "Bevin Boy," at age 16. Sent to the coal mines. Their father died of pneumonia in early 1942. The doctor came and said there was nothing he could do...shortages of everything, including doctors, hospital beds, and medicine.
     
  4. dizzyoggy

    dizzyoggy Junior Member

    My mum was a mere 'whipper snapper' during the WW2. She lived on Lumbs Farm at Exley, nr Halifax. She remembers POW's working on the farm, there were also a few evaquees. Sadly my mum died 12 years ago and dont have much more to report :-(
     
  5. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    I've posted this picture before in other threads but I'll put it up again because I love it so much. My mom was born in 1929. This is her in the summer of 1941 in NY with her uncle George just before he left for Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
     

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  6. David Layne

    David Layne Well-Known Member

    I was a child during the Second World War. Not that I remember much about it but I do know my mother would put me under the kitchen table when the air raid sirens went.
     
  7. Bernhart

    Bernhart Member

    both my parents lived throuight the occupation of Holland Mom was older a teenager, lived in Groningen, remembers Jews being rounded up, Canadians street fighting right above them.
    Dad was younger and lived on a farm, was more fortunate(Mom remembered eating poorly winter of 44, eating tulip bulbs)

    Dad's family hid a family of Jews during the war. They recieved from the Isreali embassey back late 90's an invatation to go to Isreal and have a tree planted in our family name. Dad also met before he passed away the daughters of some of the people that were hidden.
     
  8. ww2ni

    ww2ni Senior Member

    Both parents were young children.
    Dad was burned during Bombing in 1941.
     
  9. fenner257

    fenner257 Junior Member

    My four cousins, aged 3 to 7, were sent from Glasgow to Girvan to live with their Nana and Papa. They were there for about six years before going back to Glasgow. Their two mothers took turns going down and helping with the children and the other one would take care of the menfolk in the family too old to be in the war. One Uncle came down and fed the electric meter with coins every so often. To hear them tell it, they had a great adventure and hated going back to the city.
     
  10. Markyboy

    Markyboy Member

    My nan was about 12 when the war started and was evacuated from South London (I have her tags) to somewhere in the West Country. Always a home bird (she lived all her life at the one address), she couldn't handle the upheaval and was sent back to London as her health took a nosedive while she was away.

    My Grandad was 15 and joined the ARP during the Blitz. I'm not sure was ever offered evacuation, but having 3 older brothers in the forces, i'm sure he wouldn't have considered it. He was called up on his 18th Birthday in 1942, serving in the Navy.
     
  11. Drayton

    Drayton Senior Member

    [Mum's] older brother Ronald was a "Bevin Boy," at age 16. Sent to the coal mines.

    There is clearly some misunderstanding here. There was no conscription below the age of 18, and as "Bevin Boys" were, by definition, conscripts, it was not possible to be a "Bevin Boy" at age 16. Either the cited age is wrong, and Ronald was conscripted as a "Bevin Boy" at age 18, or he went down the mines at age 16 in some other capacity than as a "Bevin Boy".
     
  12. David Layne

    David Layne Well-Known Member

    There is clearly some misunderstanding here. There was no conscription below the age of 18, and as "Bevin Boys" were, by definition, conscripts, it was not possible to be a "Bevin Boy" at age 16. Either the cited age is wrong, and Ronald was conscripted as a "Bevin Boy" at age 18, or he went down the mines at age 16 in some other capacity than as a "Bevin Boy".


    Thanks for claryfing that Drayton.
     
  13. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    I only remember two things about WWII. We lived in Whitby and the war did not impinge much. The first was when a tip and run raider dropped a stick of bombs in a hotel car park full of US Army trucks. I was taken to see the blaze and hundreds of people were there. Just like Bonfire Night. The second was bad luck, and bad timing. In early 1945 I was taken to Croydon (I cant remember or imagine why) just as V1s started to arrive. I spent most of the time in a Morrison shelter under the kitchen table. Everyone thought the war was just about over by then.

    VE Day was good though. All children had a trip on a fishing boat, a ride on a bus and a street party.

    Mike
     
  14. Certa Cito

    Certa Cito Junior Member

    Born in October 1933 - guess I qualify

    Certa Cito
     
  15. son of a rat

    son of a rat Senior Member

    I like this one. Sometime ago I was watching Harry Harris on TV he was talking about a B17 which exploded over Blythbrough Suffolk in 1944 killing president Kennedy’s brother and Jacky told me her mother was injured by the explosion. She was about 22 months old living at Hinton about 2.5 miles from Blythbrough she thinks the aircraft exploded directly above there home and the shock of the blast caused one of her eyes to turn and at 70 years old she is still the same one eye looks straight at you and one in the other direction I have known her for 30 years but did not find this out till last year.
     
  16. The Q

    The Q Junior Member

    My father and his four brothers, My mother and her two sisters and brother.
    My mother for the whole war and my father for a large part of it, lived in Ludgershall, which many of you who were posted to Tidworth will know. The most famous adventures in the village are recorded in "Jim Stoodley's Private War". Who was famous for stealing an American light aircraft and flying around for some time before crashing it into trees an American officer paid the fine. This of course didn't discourage him therefore, from taking other things like, loaded weapons and a tank! eventually he ended up in Borstal. My parents knew both the Stoodley brothers (And I went to school with one of the brothers sons.)
    The Q
     
  17. Roxy

    Roxy Senior Member

    My Dad was born in '36, but he never mentioned anything about the war; I only found out that his Dad was captured at Anzio a couple of years ago. Mum was born in '43, so, whilst she qualifies, she can't remember any of it!

    Roxy
     
  18. -tmm-

    -tmm- Senior Member

    My Dad's Sister was 9 when war broke out, and she refused to be evacuated from North London (Edmonton). Heard a few tales about air raids, and bombed out buildings and parachute mines. Their road wasn't bombed I don't think, just broken windows/roof tiles etc from bombs landing in neighbouring streets.

    My Dad wasn't born until '48, but he's told me stories of playing in old bomb sites around the area.
     
  19. bofors

    bofors Senior Member

    Hi

    Mum was born in 1934, so she rememberd the war although living in Salsburgh she missed any bombing, but remembered the bombers flying over to bomb Glasgow docks and also she remembered hearing the guns firing at them and the explosions at night.

    regards

    Robert
     
  20. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    The only comment I would make is that on the 16th of August 1939 I reached the tender age of 16 which, I suppose, would still make me be considered as a child ?

    On September the 3rd, war broke out and I soon grew up :(

    Ron
     

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