Description
Object description
British evacuee from Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester to Eyam, GB, 9/1939-11/1944; civilian in Manchester, GB, 11/1945-8/1945
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Manchester, GB, 1927-1939: family; education; father's employment as baker; evacuation with two sisters from Chorlton Park School, 1/9/1939. Recollections of period as evacuee in Eyam, GB, 9/1939-11/1944: reception from villagers; allocation of billets with James and Mary Sharples; description of house and accommodation; washing day routine; home baking; comparison of lifestyles in Manchester and Eyam; recreational activities; story of collecting clothes for refugees from Spanish Civil War; reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 3/9/1939; amusing story of William Joyce 'Lord Haw Haw' and bombing of Wigan Pier; German Air Force raids on Manchester, 1940-1941; awareness of progress of war.
REEL 2 Continues: daily life in Eyam; blackout; job delivering milk; problem with sister Myra George's homesickness; German Air Force raid during visit to Manchester; use of Anderson Shelter in garden; sings children's song about Mrs Wallace Simpson and Abdication; attitude to evacuation; preparations for evacuation; clothes; luggage; attitude to wearing gas mask; memories of pre-war holidays in Blackpool; opinion of treatment by host family; allowance for keeping evacuees; visits from billeting officer; extra rations for evacuees; educational facilities.
REEL 3 Continues: return of teachers to Manchester; education at village school; pupil teachers; close relations with host family James and Mary Sharples; sight of German aircraft dropping bombs; question of suitability of Eyam as evacuee location; German Air Force raids on Sheffield; arrival of office staff from steel manufacturer Edgar Allen and Company; host James Sharple's employment in quarry; memories of ITMA catchphrases; history of Eyam as plague village.
REEL 4 Continues: description of village and local customs; opinion of education; weaving taught in village school; assisting pupil teachers; singing in church choir; attending Sunday school; joining National Association of Training Corps for Girls; films and dances in village hall; number of evacuees in village; attitude to leaving village; comparison of schools in Eyam and Manchester.
REEL 5 Continues: benefits of evacuation to Eyam; availability of food; nature of sweet ration; opinion of bread; attitude towards sex; boyfriends; sanitary towels; return to Manchester, 11/1944; attitude to presence of American servicemen; story of meeting future husband; curling hair; employment with calico printer; question of conflicting emotions for parents and host family; differences of speech.
REEL 6 Continues: further details of evacuation from Manchester to Eyam, 1/9/1939 including description of reception centre for evacuees, allocation of billets and importance of staying with sisters; comments on other evacuees and host families; cost of evacuation; memories of James and Mary Sharples; visits from parents; effect of evacuees on village life; village doctor; story of having tooth removed; inspections for head lice; washing hair in rain water.
REEL 7 Continues: educational qualifications; leaving schoold aged fourteen, 6/1941; employment at laundry; interview for training as nurse; employment in accounts department of Edgar Allen and Company, 7/1941; wages; duties with National Association of Training Corps for Girls; and Home Guard; Women's Volunteering Service cookery classes; attitude of villagers to Italian prisoners of war. Aspects of period as civilian living in Manchester, GB, 11/1944-8/1945: employment; comparison of lifestyles in Eyam and Manchester; effect of evacuation on parents and sisters; reflections on experiences as evacuee.