Voices

1. Voices An interview with Elsie Higson by Alistair HIgson 9B

2. Introduction BRGS in compiling a living history archive which will contain the testimonies of local people and their experiences in various fields. My task is to put together a piece of history to go into the ‘Voices’ archive. The aim of this project is to put together a resource for the future which contains memories from the past.

3. About the Person I interviewed • Name: Elsie Higson • Age: 85 • Place of birth: Burnley • Currently living: Burnley • Years Covered: Pre World War 2 and World War 2

4. What was your Daily Routine? During the war Elsie Higson worked at an aircraft base as an Armature winding personnel. This job involved fixing parts of aircraft engines. She would get up at around 7.00am (if she was working on the day shift) or at around noon is she was on the night shift. She worked from 8.00am till 5.00pm (day shift) or 2.00pm till 10.00pm if she was on the night shift. In order to wake up and have enough energy for the days work she went to bed at 11.00pm. During her time at work she enjoyed her job.

5. What was life like before the war? Life before the war was very different, people enjoyed doing lots of social activities together and people felt a lot safer both in their homes and on the streets. (No drugs or crime) When Elsie went to school she said she did very well although there were hardly any exams (The only exam was to get into high school). Overall Elsie said people were happier and life was better before the war.

6. What were your hobbies? When Elsie was younger she spent a lot of her free time dancing with her friends. She also enjoyed going to the theatre to watch plays and going to the local skating ring. Elsie also spent hours playing out with her friends. Elsie also said her friends were able to stay out for longer hours as there was no crime, drugs or drug dealers.

7. What were living conditions like? During the war period living standards were fairly good, the houses were clean and the streets were swept unlike today. There were plenty of shortages such as food and clothing although Elsie said she never went short of either of these. The food was of a good quality however it had to last and go a long way. During the majority of Elsie’s life she lived in a two bedroom terraced house. There was no television and absolutely no luxuries. The cleaning system was very good and people never stole from each other so everything was safe. People looked after each others belongings.

8. What where the systems like? During the war when food started to be rationed life became quite hard. There were restrictions on how much and what you could buy. Elsie said the food rationing system was based on a weekly basis when only the essentials such as bread, butter and occasionally an odd piece of meet were available. There was also a system of rationing when you wanted to buy clothes. Elsie was given a docket book and it contained approximately 35-50 dockets. When she wanted new clothing she would exchange these for a certain number of dockets.

9. What were the systems like continued? • Although this book of dockets seems a lot it actually wasn’t. Here is a list of how many dockets you need for different types of clothing: • 8 dockets for a dress • 16 dockets for a coat • 5 dockets for shoes • As you can see Elsie needed to look after her clothing and shoes very carefully.

10. What were the Black out Systems like? When the black-outs system was in place the country became a ‘darker place’. This was due to the fact that no light was to be visible at night or during the day. Elsie said that all the windows had to be covered up and if any light shone through you would be fined but fortunately for her, she never was. When the sirens sounded Elsie became very scared and frightened. When the second sirens sounded she said it was like a time of great relief, as she knew it was safe again. Elsie was very scared at these times although she gradually got used to the sirens as they happened on a regular basis.

11. The Black Market The black market was a place during the war that was a ‘booming’ business. It was a place where there was no shortage of food or clothing and you could buy what ever you wanted. The only problem was you needed to know someone who was part of the black market. Fortunately Elsie did. She said although it was very expensive it meant they were never short of supplies of food or clothing. At such a bad time Elsie said the Black Market was great.

12. What was life like during the war? Life during the war was quite strange said Elsie although she just had to get on with life and do her best. At times people were full of jealousy and Elsie said some of her friends and herself were jealous of different things such as the amount and type of food each family got. Although there were food shortages Elsie said there was enough to survive although the only really positive thing was a great sliming diet. During the war Elsie also said there was a shortage of make-up. She also said if either herself or her friends didn’t have any stockings they would paint each others legs. Elsie said she had to do it to look nice for the boys!! Overall Elsie said you just had to get on with life during the war and enjoy it as much as possible.

13. If you could change anything in the war what would it be? During the war Elsie said she would have liked to have seen the British and the Germans using the term appeasement. This meant the two sides would have sat down around a table and negotiated to end the war. She also wished people had shared more. This would have meant that all the community would have come together as one and worked together so everything was shared equally.

14. Were you scared at any point in the war? During the war Elsie said what scared her most was the sound of the sirens as this meant the bombers were on their way over. She said this was a very nervous time as a bomb could have been dropped and explode anywhere leaving devastating results. Elsie said that whilst she had to get on with her life during the war she was very glad when it finally came to an end.

15. Did any of your friends die in the war? During the war period my grandma met lots of different people and worked with many people and unfortunately found out that some had lost there lives during the war. During the war she also had an added pressure of how Vivian her husband was and if he was alive (Vivian was a pilot and helped the Americans at Pearl Harbour. He was based in India so anything could have happened to him). She said the thought of someone close dieing was terrible and the thought that you would never see them again was horrible. When she was informed that someone she knew had died she felt extremely depressed.

16. What were your most favourite moments of the war? My grandma had many favourite moments including the letters home that her husband Vivian sent her, and spending time with her friends. But her most favourite moment of the war was when the war ended and she finally knew that her husband Vivian was coming home from India, and she knew she would be able to see him and spend time with each other.

17. What were your least favourite moments of the war? During the war Elsie said there had been many bad memories which she will never forget. Her least favourite moment was when she was told her husband Vivien had been called up and would be leaving the country to go and fight in the war. Although this was a very sad time in their lives they kept in touch by air mail and kept each others sprits alive by knowing each other was alive and well.

18. How do you think the world has changed? After all that has happened during Elsie’s life she thinks the country has steady gone down-hill and now it is at an all time low. Elsie feels people no longer care for each other like they used to and life is much harder. The streets are dirtier and darker and Elsie feels it is no longer safe for her to go out on her own. She is afraid of violence and drugs and the effect this has on people. Elsie thinks money could be distributed more evenly around the world, teachers should be given more authority and children should be disciplined better. Although Elsie thinks this would help she still feels living conditions have improved, there is now a wider range of food available and life is more enjoyable. My grandmas life has been unsettled and she has learnt a lot but she feels there is no discipline in the modern world, people are no longer satisfied with what they have and that is the reason for the country’s crime and depression.

19. Thank You For viewing a project about Elsie Higson