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I was over 21 when the war started, and my husband was in the forces. I lived in the Stoke area, and worked in the munitions factory at Swynnerton. Luckily I got a job in the canteen. The workers used to come in with yellow faces from handling all the explosives.

We worked three shifts, and earned two pounds a week. You were searched on the way into work every day to make sure you weren’t taking matches or cigarettes into the factory. I remember one time I had a match in my pocket. I had to take it back to the main hut and leave it there. I could have been suspended for it though. It was quite strict there. You couldn’t have any time off without a Doctor’s note. We used to wear green overalls. I wanted to take mine home to wash and left it on under my coat, but I got caught and searched.

My husband was in the 8th Army. He went away in 1942, and I didn’t see him again until after the war in 1945. We wrote a lot of letters, but they were censored.

My brother was an instructor in the RAF, but was killed in an accident when he was

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