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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Dorothy MacKenzie for Three Counties Action on behalf of Pat Swarbrick (nee Rodgers) and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

In November 1943, I was five years old and my brother Michael was eleven. Our Dad was in the RAF based in Gibraltar and he decided to send Mum a small food parcel containing a bunch of six green bananas.

I had never seen a banana before, as they were not available in the shops during the war years, but my brother did remember that they should be yellow before they could be eaten. We waited anxiously for several days for the bananas to ripen and then Mum said we could have one each cut up in milk — they were lovely!

During this period of waiting, there was an appeal made on the wireless by Mrs Churchill. She asked for money to be raised, particularly by children, for her Red Cross “Aid to Russia” Fund. Michael heard this and asked Mum if we could raffle the rest of the bananas for a penny a ticket as they were so unusual and then send the money raised to Mrs Churchill.

Mum agreed and I remember going round all the neighbours with Michael and four bananas in a jar! We collected 254 pennies which was £1.1s.2d in old money. Michael wrote to Mrs Churchill enclosing the money and he received a receipt for the money and a personal hand-written thank you letter back.

The letter, dated 16th November 1943 and from 10 Downing Street Whitehall, stated:

‘Dear Michael
Thank you very much for your gift which I have just received —
I am most grateful to you for the trouble you have taken to help the heroic Russians in their terrible but victorious struggle against the wicked invaders of their country.
Your sincere friend,
Clementine S. Churchill’

My brother still has the letter, envelope and receipt.

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