You'd see a queue and just jump on the end

Although it was wartime they were good days, they were happy days — it sounds like a funny thing to say but they were. You’d see a queue sometimes and you didn’t know what they were queuing for but you’d get on the end: hoping it was something you wanted. We all rallied together and everyone was friendly. We used to walk up to Eltham every day —quite a walk. We used to walk up there and have a walk around the shops; have a drink while we were there, and then come home.

It was difficult during the rationing; we could only get hold of things with our ration books. We had a few sweets on the black-market but that was all. (That was only because I worked in a sweet shop.) we didn’t really bother trying to get hold of clothing during the war — it was too much bother. I had a coat made out of a grey blanket. The blanket only cost me a pound, and it cost another pound to have it made.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the BBC Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Doris Saunders and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Saunders fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Doris's stories:

• We weren’t prepared for war at all
• They’d all just started, like me
• That’s how we crossed paths
• You heard the “swish” of the rocket just before it landed on the house
• All you could see was his eyes
• Climbing trees and fences
• We took notice that time!
• We had some fun with ‘em
• He’d gone all the way round
• It was lucky I’d already got married

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