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Jean Wilson

Mrs Jean Wilson comes from Monks town in Newtownabbey, as a child Jean lived in Riga St. the heart of the Shankill Road Belfast.

Jean went to Glenwood School a stones throw from her home, and married in Woodvale Church “there was great camaraderie and everyone helped each other”
She said, her father was in the Navy, his regular ship was The Torhead, he was asked to make one trip on the North Atlantic run, the ships name was The Balmoral.
Sadly he lost his life on this tour of duty; he had 4 brothers, who were also in the Navy, one Uncle was captured at the fall of Singapore and as a P.O.W. was sent to help build the Burma Railway, because of ill treatment he returned in very bad health.
In 1940 Jean and her family stayed with relatives in Newcastle. Until the end of the war. Jean vividly remembers chickens running about the streets and roads of the Shankill, they nested in the many waste ground areas and were invaluable to supplement the mangy allowance of 2oz of cheese, bacon, and tea, you had to have enough coupons in your ration book. Dried eggs were also used and Jean says she found them very tasty

V.E. day and V.J. days (victory over Europe) and (victory over Japan) were celebrated by everyone by having street parties with plenty of music and dancing, she remembers listening to The Big Band sound, Glenn Miller etc.
At the closure of the war the American soldiers threw a big party in the Albert Hall on
the Shankill Rd. for all the bereaved children…

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