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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Maggie Smith from WM CSV Action Desk on behalf of Marjorie Stephen and has been added to the site with her permission. Marjorie Stephen fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

The winter of 1940-41 was bitterly cold —no central heating (coal was rationed, anyway) and chilblains. I remember seeing, as we walked to school, men on the frozen river, chipping the ice away from the trapped swans. There was flock of about fifty on the Taw in those days.

Now and then — fairly regularly, the school would have an air-raid practice. We had to walk in crocodile down to the Sports Ground and then on to Lovers’ Lane where we sheltered near the railway embankment and under the railway arch. We used to think that to shelter so near to a possible target was not very sensible but were too deferential to point it out. We would sing on our way down and our form-mistress would tell us to stop it in case the Germans should hear us! (Quiet, contemptuous laughter!)

In early 1944 there were increasing rumours of the openings of the Second Front. One day in late spring / early summer, flight after flight of “Lightnings” (fighter-bombers with double fuselage) flew over the school and a few days later it was D-Day. This was thrilling but we were equally concerned about our approaching A-levels (Higher School Certificate)

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