Bedfordshire

Boyhood Memories of the War in Bedford

My maternal grandfather, William Ford, became caretaker of Bunyan Meeting, Kempston and then of St Pauls...

Molly's War Effort -part 3

You will find volunteer Brown already in the cottage she was set down earlier said Stevie, as Molly...

Its a Long Way from Hodnet to Italy

There were many girls about in Bedford and one night there was a ‘do’ on at the Dujohns...

My Wartime Memories of Bedford as a Schoolboy Part 3 - The 'Home Front'

My wartime memories of Bedford as a schoolboy Part Three — The ‘Home Front’ Now another...

War Time Experiences: Working in the Evacuation Office and in the Land Army

When the Land Army Welfare Officer came round she said the place was not suitable for me and put me on...

Wartime memories of my childhood in Bedford Part 2 - Schooldays at Bedford Modern School and holidays.

We used to go on holiday with tents and on one occasion, the first time in 1944, we, I and a friend...

Got Any Gum, Chum?

One evening in particular I remember, we had knock on the door during a blackout; there were loads of RAF...

My Childhood at Whipsnade Zoo

I was eleven years old when war broke out; my father was a resident engineer at Whipsnade Zoo and as a...

Molly's war effort part 5

Mrs Griff made her way downstairs, Molly and Mary closed their bedroom door... I know lets wear the jumpers...

The Evacuee -Part 2

One day as we were walking home from school we stopped to look at one of the front gardens,we had not seen...

It Was A Long War!

So each night was spent in one of our cellars in our basement, with me on a camp bed and Mum and...

My First Evacuation - Conclusion.

As it happened the ‘normal course of events’ was overtaken by the activities of Adolph Hitler...

Homeguard Memories

The weekly ticket for the bus from Dunstable town hall to Vauxhall cost 3 shillings and sixpence for 12...

Digging for Victory/Fire Watching while a Pupil at Dunstable Grammar School

Before the war my father had as a hobby, a smallholding at the back of our house in Luton Road, Dunstable,...

Nazis on the Playing Field

So I found myself posted to the 1st Battalion of King George V's Own Gurkha Rifles, which together with...

Molly's War Effort -part 4

The volunteers were lined up to receive their various duties Mary, Stevie and the two sisters were directed...

Coping In the War: A boy Scouts Memory

We went to London , and there was hardly any traffic and we got to the Mall and stopped at the bottom...

Life of a Retailer In Dunstable

Although the introduction of the Delco factory increased the population of Dunstable, the biggest increase...

Mother and Daughter Reminisce about Life in London and Dunstable

At that time there was lots of bombing at the docks, where it was very, very bad; of course my husband...

Memories of Evacuee Life

By this time we had started our schoolwork at the old village school situated at the top of the High...

Evacuation to Bedford and Llansadwrn

Eventually, I found myself in Llansadwrn, and the evacuee co-ordinator, a Mrs Dineen, billeted me with the...

The Evacuee part 1

In 1933 we moved to 14 Wimbourne St Shoreditch where my brother Alfie was born in 1934,in 1935 we moved to...

From Cadet Corps to D-Day

At Bovington there was general primary training followed by a few months intensive course on all aspects of...

Childhood Evacuee Experiences in Dunstable

We also stole and ate the family's store of pears so we were taken to a 'short-stay' hostel in...

Letters home to mum and dad: Joining the RAF

Deposited luggage in our hut (396), went to dinner: meat, sprouts, mashed potato and rice. There were only...

Molly's War Effort part 6

Molly and Marie made their way to the kitchen... Molly had never seen a kitchen like it before but she...