In the meantime, dad, whose normal job was as a plumber, found himself out of work during this exceptionally bad weather, but was able to get a temporary postman’s job over the Christmas period.
It was while we were living at Wordsworth Drive that World War II started, on Sunday 3rd September 1939.
By 1940 we had moved again, a short distance away to a house almost next door to the Queen Victoria pub at North Cheam, 374 Malden Road, and almost opposite to the butcher’s shop where Fred and I worked.
In the meantime we were getting frequent air-raid warnings The drill was that if the sirens sounded during the daytime whilst we were out on the delivery round we were expected to head for the nearest air-raid shelter. If we were in the shop during an air-raid then the customers were ushered out and the shutters pulled down.
Most of the local shopkeepers formed into a fire-watching group, with Fred and I taking our turn at night along with our manager and other people from our shop. We patrolled the area around the block of shops and the flats above, looking out for possible incendiary bombs.
It was from this house in Malden Road that I was called up in 1941 to join the army for wartime National Service.
Mike says: A very poor photocopy of a 1939-1945
ration book, which was in the printed copy of my dad's book. I have
no idea if it was his, or belonged to another family member, or indeed
whether he just got the photocopy from another source... Note that although
the book has its number, the Holder's Name, Address and National Registration
Number have not been completed, so it may be a later sample he came
across.
As a point of history… In March 1937, there were eight hundred and twenty-four millionaires in Britain, an increase of forty-nine since 1936.
In June 1937, Joe Louis became World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
In August 1937, Sydney Wooderson set a new world record at Motspur Park, running a mile in 4 minutes, 6.4 seconds.
In July 1938 a British locomotive “Mallard” set a new world speed record of 126 mph.
On the 27th July 1938, the world’s Largest Liner “The Queen Elizabeth” was launched on the Clyde, and in October 1938 the “Picture Post” magazine was launched with eighty pages, priced at 3d.
