In Living Memory - Contributions (Page 2) Interview with Mummy (living in the Far East) Nanny's Memories (remembering the war) Interview with Grandma (remembering the first day at school) Interview with Mummy By Jonathan, aged 7 My Mum Belinda used to live in Malaysia. She says it was very beautiful there. She lived near the jungle and used to go swimming nearly every day. She went to a nice school on the edge of the jungle and at weekends went on a boat to the beach. The beach had lots of golden sand and palm trees. My Mum remembers going to see rubber plantations, crocodile farms and farms with lots of beautiful butterflies. She used to go to Sutton's Palace to feed wild monkeys and was sometimes allowed to go to the all night market. When Mum was seven years old and lived in Hong Kong, they had a flat that overlooked the harbour. She remembers watching the QE1 on fire for quite a few days. It capsized. Later they went on a boat trip around the burnt-out wreckage.          Nanny's Memories By Sally, aged 7 Nanny's name is Elizabeth; she was given the same name as the Queen. She was born in Seaham, which is in County Durham in the north of England, in 1933. She was six years old when the war began. She has five brothers - three older, two younger - and has no sisters. Her job was in the WAAF (Women's Air Force), then she got married. She has lived in Lincolnshire and Scotland. The war went on for six years. She had to take a gas mask everywhere with her. Sometimes planes came to drop bombs on them from Germany, so everyone had to go to a shelter when the siren went. The war finished when she was 12 years old. They had a street party. The streets were decorated and they danced and sang in the streets. There was lots of food and fun. Everyone was happy. Interview with Grandma By Nicholas, aged 7 Q1: How old were you when World War II started? I was born in 1937 so I was 2 years old. Q2: How did you celebrate your birthday when you were young? Sometimes I had 1 or 2 friends to tea. All food was on ration, therefore a family couldn’t have a very big party as the food wasn’t available, nor could parents afford a lot. If we were lucky we had jelly and blancmange and jam or paste sandwiches. I don’t remember having a birthday cake with candles. Q3: Did you go on holiday during the war? I was taken on holiday when I was 2 years old but I didn’t have a holiday after that until I was about 9 or 10. Q4: Can you remember your first day at school? I started school when I was five. I can still remember what I was wearing, it was a red tartan skirt and a red jumper. There was no school uniform as clothes were also hard to buy. Q5: What do you remember about your first year at school? We used to have a rest on little beds after lunch for the first year. The classroom had steps right across it so the desks were in tiers. It was easy to see the teacher who always taught from the front of the room. We didn’t have as many books as you do now, as books were also in short supply. Everybody used to walk to and from school with friends then, no mothers ever came with us. There was always a policeman at any main road to see us across. It took about ½ hour each way. Q6: What were you doing when the war ended? The war ended in May 1945 when I was 8. I remember going up to London with my Dad and my sister Jean. We went on a tram along the Embankment and then I saw fireworks for the first time in my life. There were so many people dancing in the streets that the tram had to stop. We eventually decided to get off the tram and took a bus back home. It took a very long time but we had a wonderful day.          Next