Re: Questions for Cleveland, Ohio USA

Horace A. Basham (horace@hbasham.ak.planet.gen.nz)
Thu, 20 Nov 1997 21:45:12 -0400 

You wrote:-
>We are a 7th grade class in Northfield, Ohio a suburb of Cleveland.  We
>would like to ask you some questions about your WWII experience.

I am happy Tom Holloway has answered your questions so well.

My name is Horace Basham I am a good bit older than Tom.:(. I had left
school well before the WW2 broke out so my answers are not the same as
Tom's in some repsects..
>
>1.      Did you have enough food to eat?

Under wartime rationing it was not always easy to feed a small family well.
With my family there were Mum and Dad, four boys and one girls. So together
we had eight ration cards. Pooling the rations did make things easier. When
one did not like one thing and another did not like something else there was
a sort of exchange. With a friendly butcher, grosser sometimes things
that were not rationed but in short supply were made available to us. Good
customers were looked after. It was clothing that our family had most
trouble with. We young tearaways (teenagers) were hard on our boots and
shoes.

>
>2.      Were any of your family members in the War?

Yes! my elder brother Sidney and Percy were called up earlier than I. They
went into the Army. I to be diferent later went into the RAF. My eldest
brother Stanley and youngest brother George were both class as unfit for
military service. Stanley enlisted as an Air raid Warden, Young George was
in a reserved occupation. He was a Baker by trade.

>
>3.      Was money worth anything during and after the war?

Money is always worth something. Although inflation was not rampant in the
early days of the war it did occur. Most inflation occured on the black
market. Things cost manytimes their real value. If one had the money
you could afford luxury items. There were Spivs and wide boys around to
take advantage of a quick pound or two.

>
>4.      What were your schools like?

In my location in West Ham east of London schools that survived the bombing
were just as they had always been. Many of the male teaches were ofcouse
called up. But I was not at school then. So I do not know from first hand
the changes if any that took place. Things were so conservative in
Britian in those days of before the war. I would say there were no
changes.

>
>5.      What were your hobbies during the war?

My hobbies were few. I was too occupied with Air Training Corp. The YMCA
and dancing. I attended ballroom dancing classes. I guess you can call that
a hobby. I was a good dancer. It sure made me popular with the girls.:)

> >6.      How were women treated?

I am not sure what to say here. What is implied? If you mean were they
treated diffently than before the war. No. But married women were expected
to behave themselves while their menfolk were away at war. No hanky panky
as it were. Mind you it was hard on some. Especially when the US Forces
arrived in Britian.

Many, many thousands of women did take up mens' work replacing those men
called up. Such as bus conductors (Clippies), Porter on th railway, etc.
Hundreds of thousands were in munitions and aircraft production, Working
long hours, and doing heavy manual work too.

>
>7.      What things did you do for fun with your family?

There were football matches in the winter and cricket in the summer. Tom
mentioned radio. Yes, and the spring wound up gramophone. We did not have
any thing else to listen to in those days. But Tom is quite right. Radio
today is not a patch as good as it was then. We had series of comedy shows
such as Tommy Handley's ITMA. Round the Horne, with Kenneth Horne. The Navy
Lark. Worker play time. Educating Archie was a hot favourite. That was a
ventrioquist show. There were concerts party put on in factory canteens to
enterain the workers. Dance music broadcasts of dance music direct from
various restaurants and cafes in London, and elsewhere. Yes there was
plenty to entertain us. Especially on those dark winter nights of cold and
night bombing raids.

>
>Thank you for answering our questions.
>
>Liz Langan
>Computer teacher
>

I hope this goes some way to answering youquestions. :)

Horace
Semper paratus.