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I was 13 years old when WW2 began on September 3rd 1939, It was a beautiful sunny day.
I remember my mother measuring for the blackout curtains that she made herself, soon afterwards we were issued with a square cardboad box which contained a gas mask, we had to carry these everywhere we went. later followed food and clothing rationing and the coupons that went with them.
Living on the outskirts of Manchester we didn't have very heavy bombing like the big cities but i do remember the blitz on Manchester in December 1940. The bombers always seemed to begin their route at 6.30pm each evening.
Although we had the blackout during wartime we still managed to get to the cinemas and dancehalls, we could walk home at night afterwards without the fear of being attacked by anyone. It was good to be able to walk home in the moonlight but that increased the chances of more air-raids than usual as the enemy pilots were helped by the light nights.
At the begining of the war we went to school part time, half going in the morning, the other half in the afternoon, this was due to them having to build the air-raid shelters for us in the school grounds, further into the war we returned to normal school hours.
I met my future husband HARRY TAYLOR in 1942 at an ATC dance held at AUDENSHAW GRAMMAR SCHOOL, he lived in DENTON and I lived in ASHTON UNDER LYME Lancs.
My maiden name was MARGARET CHIDLOW and I attended FAIRFIELD HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS.
Two of my friends at that time were JEAN BROOKES from DENTON and KATHLEEN KEIGHLEY from STALYBRIDGE. Sadly I lost touch with them over the years but still think of them and wonder how they got on.
Life seemed much simpler during the war, probably because we were young and did not realise the terrible things happening across the world.

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