Videos tagged with london

Rationing and and Children's Routines during WW2

Rationing and and Children's Routines during WW2

In the second part of his interview Alex talks about rationing during the Second World War and how families struggled on a daily basis to feed themselves with the tiny quantities they were allowed. He talks of how his mother had to scrub floors to make ends meet whilst his father was away in the army, and of the short while he spent away when he was evacuated as a boy of 4. Alex also remembers a couple of cheeky adventures him and his friends used to embark on to get around their sweet cravings!

Wartime spirit and children's games and activities

Wartime spirit and children's games and activities

Alex was born and raised in Hackney, East London. He was about seven years old when the second world war broke out. In the first part of his interview he recalls the games he and his friends from the neighborhood used to play to pass the time, and the typical activities and behaviour of war-time children in the 1940s and 50s. Alex also talks about the sense of community that was so prevalent during such hard times, everyone helped one another wherever possible and this was something that was passed down to even very young children. He remembers doing everything he could to help out his less fortunate neighbours and the elderly...

Moving from the Seychelles to London in the 1960s and how the Seychelles has changed in the past 50 years

Moving from the Seychelles to London in the 1960s and how the Seychelles has changed in the past 50 years

In the second part of her interview, Elise Johnson tells us the story of why she moved from The Seychelles in the early 1960s to come to London. She recalls what it was like moving from one culture to another so dramatically different, and what circumstances she was faced with when she arrived. Elise also talks about what it is like for her now going back to The Seychelles after having adapted to London life, and how the environment and its people have changed so dramatically in the past 50 years.

Muriel Webb. Life as a disabled child in the 1940s and 50s

Muriel Webb. Life as a disabled child in the 1940s and 50s

This is the extraordinary story of Muriel Webb's childhood. Born in 1942, daughter of an unmarried woman and a German soldier, Muriel was given up for adoption. She was born with a brain tumor that left the left side of her body disabled and with countless medical problems. Her adoptive mother could not cope with her disabilty and abandoned her at county hall in London. In Part 1 of her interview, Muriel recounts her childhood memories of living in and out of children's homes. She explains what it felt like to be a child with a severe disability in those times and how she never really felt part of a family. She lived in these homes until she was 17 and then went back to live with her adoptive mother, a time which did not leave her with fond memories...

Getting Caught by a mine during the London Blitz

Getting Caught by a mine during the London Blitz

Sunny Talks about the time when he was blown into an Anderson Shelter occupied by his wife and daughter and a voluntary worker by a German mine during the London Blitz