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Grandmother and Adam and his Grandfather are sitting comfortably together when Adam begins to ask them some questions about the WW2 period of their life.

Adam. “Where were you living during the War and what did you do when the sirens went off?�

Grandma “Well, we lived on a farm where Birket House is now in Wigston, Leicester, behind the gasworks. When the sirens went off, we went under the table as some places didn’t have any air-raid shelters.�

Adam “Tell me about the ration books.

Grandma “Well, we had to hand in our ration books to the grocer and they cut out a coupon and kept it. Clothes, food and sweets were rationed. Some people made their wedding dresses out of parachute material, as it would take ages to save up for one with coupons.�

Adam “Were you evacuated Granddad?�

Granddad “Yes, I was, I used to live in East London, but I was evacuated to South Wigston. I was lucky as my Mum came with me, but my brothers and sisters were evacuated to different families. My home was bombed in East London.�

Adam “Anything else you want to tell me?�

Grandma “Yes, a German prisoner was sent to work on our farm and he made my brother a ship in a bottle, which he still has.�

This story was submitted to the “Peoples War Site by Rod Aldwinckle of the CSV Action Desk on behalf of Jean Percival and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the terms and conditions of the site.

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