In
August 1939 – 80 years ago at the time of writing – Britain was on the brink of
war and families all over the country were preparing themselves for the second
time in a century to say goodbye to their young men as they got ready for the
forthcoming battle. Preparations on the
‘home front’ were equally important – for the country as a whole, and for
communities and individuals whose ways of life were to change forever, and it
is this aspect of war-time Britain which we chose to explore in our first
August cafe.
David
and Margaret opened the afternoon by reading a poem recalling wartime
experiences and this really set the scene. Many of our members have vivid
memories of these times, or could recall stories from their parents’ generation,
and there was great interest in the display which greeted them at the
cafe. Photographs, books and artefacts
related to the many aspects of life at the time – evacuation, rationing, civil
defence and the many roles taken up by women sparked memories of personal
experiences for our older visitors, whilst the ‘youngsters’ amongst us were
reminded that it affected us too, with a look at the post-war Britain, and a
reminder that rationing continued until 1954!
Our
guests also had the chance to tackle a word-search themed around ‘The War Years
and Beyond’ as well as a word grid based on the letters of ‘Home Guard’.
Stimulated
by the displays, over the next three quarters of an hour many memories were
exchanged between our guests: we heard about the number of evacuees who were
sent to local villages such as St Dennis and Tresillian, American servicemen
based at St Eval, the girl who was evacuated twice because she didn’t like her
first billet, and another of our friends who, as an eight year old, was holidaying
in a converted bus at Porth when war was declared. The recollections were so clear it was hard
to believe they harked back eighty years! Some were keen to try on the wartime
police helmet and there were some telling comments on how much healthier the
restrictions of a rationed diet were than our sugar-laden foods of today.
It
was soon time for tea and our refreshments kept us in touch with our war-time
theme with the inclusion of some items reminiscent of those times – spam
sandwiches, economy bacon and egg tart bulked out with breadcrumbs, cheese
biscuits and rock buns were all sampled, along with the more ‘luxurious’ cakes
and biscuits we’ve all come to expect!
One thing hadn’t changed since the war – a good old cup of tea!
For
the last part of the afternoon everyone enjoyed a good ‘sing-song’ of familiar
numbers from the past and we shared a laugh as David went through the possible
answers to the word grid. There was a
last chance to look at the displays before it was time to ‘clear the decks’
once again.
We
look forward to our next meeting on 19th August at Crantock Village
Hall. New members are always welcome, and should you require further
information please contact Di on 01637 830544, Joan on 01637 831347 or visit
our website at crantockmemorycafe.org.uk.
