Voices

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Voices

• An interview with Elsie Higson by Alistair HIgson
  9B

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Introduction
BRGS in compiling a living history archive which
will contain the testimonies of local people and
their experiences in various fields.
My task is to put together a piece of history to
go into the Voices archive.
The aim of this project is to put together a
resource for the future which contains memories
from the past.
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About the Person I interviewed

• Name Elsie Higson
• Age 85
• Place of birth Burnley
• Currently living Burnley
• Years Covered Pre World War 2 and World War 2

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What was your Daily Routine?

• During the war Elsie Higson worked at an aircraft
  base as an Armature winding personnel. This job
  involved fixing parts of aircraft engines. She
  would get up at around 7.00am (if she was working
  on the day shift) or at around noon is she was on
  the night shift. She worked from 8.00am till
  5.00pm (day shift) or 2.00pm till 10.00pm if she
  was on the night shift.
• In order to wake up and have enough energy for
  the days work she went to bed at 11.00pm. During
  her time at work she enjoyed her job.

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What was life like before the war?

• Life before the war was very different, people
  enjoyed doing lots of social activities together
  and people felt a lot safer both in their homes
  and on the streets. (No drugs or crime) When
  Elsie went to school she said she did very well
  although there were hardly any exams (The only
  exam was to get into high school). Overall Elsie
  said people were happier and life was better
  before the war.

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What were your hobbies?

• When Elsie was younger she spent a lot of her
  free time dancing with her friends. She also
  enjoyed going to the theatre to watch plays and
  going to the local skating ring. Elsie also spent
  hours playing out with her friends. Elsie also
  said her friends were able to stay out for longer
  hours as there was no crime, drugs or drug
  dealers.

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What were living conditions like?

• During the war period living standards were
  fairly good, the houses were clean and the
  streets were swept unlike today. There were
  plenty of shortages such as food and clothing
  although Elsie said she never went short of
  either of these. The food was of a good quality
  however it had to last and go a long way.
• During the majority of Elsies life she lived in
  a two bedroom terraced house. There was no
  television and absolutely no luxuries. The
  cleaning system was very good and people never
  stole from each other so everything was safe.
  People looked after each others belongings.

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What where the systems like?

• During the war when food started to be rationed
  life became quite hard. There were restrictions
  on how much and what you could buy. Elsie said
  the food rationing system was based on a weekly
  basis when only the essentials such as bread,
  butter and occasionally an odd piece of meet were
  available.
• There was also a system of rationing when you
  wanted to buy clothes. Elsie was given a docket
  book and it contained approximately 35-50
  dockets. When she wanted new clothing she
  would exchange these for a certain number of
  dockets.

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What were the systems like continued?

• Although this book of dockets seems a lot it
  actually wasnt. Here is a list of how many
  dockets you need for different types of clothing
• 8 dockets for a dress
• 16 dockets for a coat
• 5 dockets for shoes
• As you can see Elsie needed to look after her
  clothing and shoes very carefully.

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What were the Black out Systems like?

• When the black-outs system was in place the
  country became a darker place. This was due to
  the fact that no light was to be visible at night
  or during the day. Elsie said that all the
  windows had to be covered up and if any light
  shone through you would be fined but fortunately
  for her, she never was.
• When the sirens sounded Elsie became very scared
  and frightened. When the second sirens sounded
  she said it was like a time of great relief, as
  she knew it was safe again. Elsie was very scared
  at these times although she gradually got used to
  the sirens as they happened on a regular basis.

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The Black Market

• The black market was a place during the war that
  was a booming business. It was a place where
  there was no shortage of food or clothing and you
  could buy what ever you wanted. The only problem
  was you needed to know someone who was part of
  the black market. Fortunately Elsie did. She
  said although it was very expensive it meant they
  were never short of supplies of food or clothing.
  At such a bad time Elsie said the Black Market
  was great.

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What was life like during the war?

• Life during the war was quite strange said Elsie
  although she just had to get on with life and do
  her best. At times people were full of jealousy
  and Elsie said some of her friends and herself
  were jealous of different things such as the
  amount and type of food each family got. Although
  there were food shortages Elsie said there was
  enough to survive although the only really
  positive thing was a great sliming diet.
• During the war Elsie also said there was a
  shortage of make-up. She also said if either
  herself or her friends didnt have any stockings
  they would paint each others legs. Elsie said she
  had to do it to look nice for the boys!! Overall
  Elsie said you just had to get on with life
  during the war and enjoy it as much as possible.

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If you could change anything in the war what
would it be?

• During the war Elsie said she would have liked to
  have seen the British and the Germans using the
  term appeasement. This meant the two sides would
  have sat down around a table and negotiated to
  end the war. She also wished people had shared
  more. This would have meant that all the
  community would have come together as one and
  worked together so everything was shared equally.

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Were you scared at any point in the war?

• During the war Elsie said what scared her most
  was the sound of the sirens as this meant the
  bombers were on their way over. She said this was
  a very nervous time as a bomb could have been
  dropped and explode anywhere leaving devastating
  results. Elsie said that whilst she had to get
  on with her life during the war she was very glad
  when it finally came to an end.

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Did any of your friends die in the war?

• During the war period my grandma met lots of
  different people and worked with many people and
  unfortunately found out that some had lost there
  lives during the war. During the war she also had
  an added pressure of how Vivian her husband was
  and if he was alive (Vivian was a pilot and
  helped the Americans at Pearl Harbour. He was
  based in India so anything could have happened to
  him).
• She said the thought of someone close dieing was
  terrible and the thought that you would never see
  them again was horrible. When she was informed
  that someone she knew had died she felt extremely
  depressed.

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What were your most favourite moments of the war?

• My grandma had many favourite moments including
  the letters home that her husband Vivian sent
  her, and spending time with her friends. But her
  most favourite moment of the war was when the war
  ended and she finally knew that her husband
  Vivian was coming home from India, and she knew
  she would be able to see him and spend time with
  each other.

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What were your least favourite moments of the war?

• During the war Elsie said there had been many bad
  memories which she will never forget. Her least
  favourite moment was when she was told her
  husband Vivien had been called up and would be
  leaving the country to go and fight in the war.
  Although this was a very sad time in their lives
  they kept in touch by air mail and kept each
  others sprits alive by knowing each other was
  alive and well.

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How do you think the world has changed?

• After all that has happened during Elsies life
  she thinks the country has steady gone down-hill
  and now it is at an all time low.
• Elsie feels people no longer care for each other
  like they used to and life is much harder. The
  streets are dirtier and darker and Elsie feels it
  is no longer safe for her to go out on her own.
  She is afraid of violence and drugs and the
  effect this has on people.
• Elsie thinks money could be distributed more
  evenly around the world, teachers should be given
  more authority and children should be disciplined
  better. Although Elsie thinks this would help she
  still feels living conditions have improved,
  there is now a wider range of food available and
  life is more enjoyable. My grandmas life has been
  unsettled and she has learnt a lot but she feels
  there is no discipline in the modern world,
  people are no longer satisfied with what they
  have and that is the reason for the countrys
  crime and depression.

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Thank You

• For viewing a project about Elsie Higson