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Elizabeth Henderson's Blog - Memories of an Unremarkable Woman

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Battle of Britain continued
Not only was there a shortage of food and more and more rationing but there were things that were difficult to get hold of and were indeed rationed. The most trying of these was the rationing of all kinds of soap. This was before detergents so everything from washing machines and personal hygiene were affected and we had to be very frugal. We had a kind of basket with a handle in which we put every scrap of soap, even the odd soap flake that had fallen on the floor. We then agitated this in the water for washing up and washing one's hair. Shampoo and toothpaste were also scarce.

But there were moments of joy. My brother had a little girl, Elizabeth Ann, who was born in the early months of 1941. My sisters Mary and Margaret who were trying to adopt a baby themselves were very jealous of the new baby, but only for a short time as a little girl Jennifer was put up for adoption. They brought her home at seven days old. She had been born on the same day as her cousin. There was not the red tape surrounding adoption in those days and there was no difficulty in two unmarried women taking home a new baby.

While all this was going on the Battle of Britain had started in earnest. We were desperately short of planes and a request went out for any scrap metal to be collected. A common sight to come across was a pile of kettles, saucepans, and even railings taken down from front gardens and parks. They were all waiting to be collected and melted down for scrap to help the war effort. It is hard to believe now that the battle in the air was dependent on our kitchens.

We were living not far, as the crow flies, from Biggin Hill where many famous airmen were stationed. We could see some of the dog fights in the air and were able to cheer each other up when we saw a German plane shot down. All the girls wanted a pair of wings and you felt very out of it unless you had at least a brooch to show off to your friends. My sister-in-law, Peggy, sent her brother to stay with us on his way to join the Air Force. What a relief when he sent me a brooch with RAF wings! I never realized at the time how vital the Battle of Britain was for our survival.

There was one event that changed my life, our church at Camberwell was bombed and largely destroyed. My parents and I went to the local Church of England church in Sydenham, Saint Bart's, where we were received very warmly and felt most welcome. My parents were received into full communion but I was requested to be confirmed because I was only 13. I had joined the choir which proved to be the start of the new friendships that would become strong and lasting.

I had previously only had my friends from school as my companions because the church at Camberwell was not a local parish church but took members from all over the London area. I never met socially with anyone of my own age from the congregation and my sisters never brought home boys so my social life was very limited. But now I was introduced to the church based youth group for people of my age and it included boys! Because there was so little entertainment during the war and we never got out anywhere except in our own little area, companionship became very important. We were a very mixed group of all ages but spent all our spare time together making our own amusements. Sometimes this consisted of long walks in the country to get away from the town and the bombing. We met round a large tree opposite the church. It had seats around it and we just sat there and waited to see who else would come. We put on a revue of our own devising for the benefit of our long suffering parents.
This entry was posted on August 21, 2010 at 9:50 am.
« Battle of Britain Start Wartime Companions »
Introduction Explore the Family Tree Return to Library Index View the Resources Used