Marion Graham
Bananas in wartime, 1940s Marion Graham, photograph taken in 2006 © Carl Rose When the war began in 1939, I was five years old and really can't remember much about the food we had. But one thing I do remember clearly was when my uncle, who was in the Royal Navy, came home on leave once. He brought us bananas, all the way from 'the hot countries on the other side of the world', he said (actually Gibraltar). They were a great treat, nobody else I knew got to have bananas! When he told us about them, my cousins and I rushed to ask our Nan if she would make custard to go with them. As children we had no concerns about what the sailors had been through before or after they had acquired the fruit! We just loved those bananas and custard! Written by Marion Graham, born in 1934, Pitsmoor resident and member of Firshill and Pitsmoor Local History Group, January 2006. |