My East End Childhood

This was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from CSV London on behalf of Bernard Marks and has been added to the site with his permission. Bernard Marks understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was born Bernard Markovich on the 9th of September 1933 in Whitechapel. Well, it was Aldgate really but you’d always make out it was the East End. If you were from the East End then you were a Cockney and that was the best thing to be. It was a wonderful area, Christians and Jews lived together and everyone helped one another out. There were no real troubles. We lived in harmony.

My name changed to Marks because it was easier that way. Lots of people would change their name. It was nothing to do with being embarrassed about being Jew. My dad was a tailor and was so popular. People would always come into the shop and make a big fuss of him. We weren’t a very religious family but we were always so proud to be Jewish, just like my children are now. In fact, my son is more religious than me! I went to the Jewish school in Stepney Green. I’ll always remember the Headteacher Mr Benson. He’d look at me and say, “Bernie one of these days I’m going to give you such a smack!” He never did though.

We’d get up to all kinds of things as kids. We loved football and would play it anywhere we could. We’d always joke, “No Arsenal supporters here”. Being Jewish was never a problem. We were a real community. It was only the little things that were different. If we were out with friends we’d not have a bacon sandwich but we’d have a cheese sandwich instead. Little things like that. I still meet up with my childhood friends from the East End. We have a special bond.

When the war broke out it was quite exciting in a way. We all got used to it and us kids stuck together a lot. My brothers and sister are a bit younger than me and we’d all look after eachother. We never felt scared, not really. If the siren went off then we’d all go down underneath the flats to a shelter. We’d get taken down there by an uncle or an aunt if our mum and dad were at the factory or in the shop.

We could play down there, all kinds of games. Sometimes we’d stay there together, everyone together, all through the night.
My wife Rhona remembers one time, two boys were drawing in chalk on the side of the air raid shelter and they drew a picture of Hitler. Well, did they get a hiding! People would be so nice to us, saying “we love you, don’t you worry about anything”.

When I was about ten in 1943 we moved to Hackney. No one ever gave us any trouble before but we started to have more people hassling us. We’d try to keep our distance from the Catholics. Sometimes they’d take the Mickey out of you, but we’d take no notice. The police were always very good to us. They’d say “Take no notice of them Bernie”. It was just a joke quite often. Quite a few Germans came over after the war and they’d laugh and say “Oh, you Jewish British!”. Funnily enough, some of them were really quite nice.

At the end of the war we moved to Essex. Dad wanted us out of London. He said it was because we would be closer to Tottenham Hotspurs but the war had changed things in a way. I joined the army myself when I was 18 and I went to Germany, France and Italy with them. I had quite a good time of it. When I got back I worked in a Jewish then a Christian butchers and then I worked as a driver for a tailors.

I’ll have always have such fond memories of growing up in the East End. It was such a wonderful area, it really was. I like to have a laugh and be nice to people and its always seen me through.

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