Doris Flook

My name is Doris Flook and I’m 92 years of age. I was born in 1917. I was born in Sunny Bank, Glynafon.

I remember it on a Sunday afternoon and this young man was running up the street. We all ran to the door. He was shouting: war had been declared, Germany declared war. So we were all very excited, didn’t know what to do. That was the beginning of it then.

Well, they were all issued to everyone I think, but everyone had to have that identity card.

Everything was rationed then, including butter, sugar and they only had about 3 ounces, I think, of sugar and meat and everything was rationed. And we used to have, for sugar, we used to have saccharin.

My mother and my brother; we lived in the fish shop then at the time, the restaurant. It was his shop, you see, and we used to help out there ‘till about 1943, I think. To me we done a very good trade there because we, you know, were open ‘till late in the night and the boys used to come there. We done very good trade there so, I mean, whether it was cause the war was on I don’t know. Oh it was really good then, wonderful.

1941 I think it was. My husband was in the army then and then he was in different, down Sussex and different places around, and then they had a final thing then to go out to the Middle East. Oh he had a number: 7937329. He was out there for, say, till end of war then, 1945.

He looked, you know, he looked older, and of course he was very sort of fairish skin and fair hair and, well, he had wrinkles in his face and all that then and looked a lot older, and in fact, I didn’t recognise him at first when he walked in. Yes, I was very pleased he was back, very excited.