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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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War Work at Moores in Barnet.

by Guernseymuseum

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Archive List > United Kingdom > London

Contributed by
Guernseymuseum
People in story:
Mrs Ethel Wolley (née Blatchford)
Location of story:
Barnet
Background to story:
Civilian
Article ID:
A6950900
Contributed on:
14 November 2005

Extract from edited transcript of Mrs Ethel Wolley (née Blatchford) interviewed by ѿý Radio Guernsey 5/2/05.
Transcribed by John David

So then I went to Barnet and I worked for Moores, it was a surgical place, surgical factory, very modern, who made dressings and equipment for Mrs Churchill’s fund, Mr Churchill’s wife had a fund, “Aid to Russia”, and I used to make these field dressings to be sent to Russia, and our forces as well.
I………. Did you feel safer being out of London?
Well you still had risk, but it was more concentrated in London, they were really out to blast London to pieces. But you didn’t get any sleep, at night the sirens would go, early evening, and I would go down to the shelter, we had an old dog there, called Old Moll, and he would bark, and take you to where his lead was on the wall, and we would go down to the shelter together. Sometimes Aunt Edie was with me, but she worked at Mount Pleasant Post office, which of course is the main Post Office for London, if the siren went, they had to remain, so many many a night I was in that air-raid shelter with just the dog, and about seven in the morning you would crawl out stiff, tired, cold, and then you’d do a days work, I suppose I had about two hours’ sleep for weeks and weeks, and then when you had several hours’ sleep you felt dreadful.
I………. I suppose people must have just ignored things like cold and flu?
Well in the War everyone worked together, you were all aiming for one thing, Victory. Nearly every family had somebody in the forces or doing war work. There was a certain amount of black marketing went on I suppose, but among the ordinary people you all shared your memories, you all worked together.

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