Title
Margaret Sparrow recounts her memories of Canadian soldiers in Leicestershire
Subject
WW2
Description
Margaret Sparrow recounts her memories of Canadian soldiers in Leicestershire
Creator
EMOHA
Source
EMOHA100/99
Publisher
EMOHA
Date
1940s
Rights
You may use this item in accordance with the licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en
Format
.mp3
Language
English
Type
Oral History
Original Format
.mp3
Duration
2 mins. 37 secs.
Transcription
We had quite a lot of upset, there was a lot descended on the village. Of course we had the army and the Canadian radar unit. I mean, they were billeted among the houses in the village. So not only we've got the evacuees, but we’ve also got the radar Canadian unit at the top of the village, the army. They did have their own camp, but it seemed an awful lot of people in the village at the same time.
Do you think made much difference to the social life and the girls in the village?
Very much so, yes. Yes, I was about to turn 11/12. We used to watch the older girls making eyes at the soldiers and the airmen and I was envied quite a bit because we had a an airman staying next door at my grandmother's house and and he was a lovely chappie. And he used to take me and look after me at the the village dances. So I was quite honoured, really. I've got my own bodyguard. One or two of the the soldiers married village girls and actually still live in the village, you know.
Did it caused much friction between the local boys?
A little bit, yes, because we had the village school was used at the weekend for dances and if we didn't get a fight, it wasn't village dance. And we haven't got to the local constable then. He came from Markfield and he used to enjoy a drink and if there was any trouble, either in the pub or the dance hall, it disappeared on his bike. Or he came and cheered mom. But it was just, there was some, there was a knife fight one night. I remember this in particular in the in the toilets, in the in the boys playground. There was a knife fight, you know.
Who was that between and who?
The local lads and the Canadian airmen, actually. Yeah, but no one really got injured. They were separated before it got too far, but I know knives were drawn and it got rather nasty, you know, but there's usually a punch-up in the village when there's the village dance in any case.
Whether there were soldiers there or not?
Yes, yes. Oh yes. There was a pub across the road, so they used to go and get pretty tanked up in the pub and then come across the village dance, you know, I mean, as kids, I remember running around saying ‘ohh fight there’s a fight’, you know. And there were more people outside in the playground than there was in the pub. Yeah, it was good fun, really. There didn't seem to be the viciousness, somehow, you know, there was a fight and that was it. And it was all over.
Do you think made much difference to the social life and the girls in the village?
Very much so, yes. Yes, I was about to turn 11/12. We used to watch the older girls making eyes at the soldiers and the airmen and I was envied quite a bit because we had a an airman staying next door at my grandmother's house and and he was a lovely chappie. And he used to take me and look after me at the the village dances. So I was quite honoured, really. I've got my own bodyguard. One or two of the the soldiers married village girls and actually still live in the village, you know.
Did it caused much friction between the local boys?
A little bit, yes, because we had the village school was used at the weekend for dances and if we didn't get a fight, it wasn't village dance. And we haven't got to the local constable then. He came from Markfield and he used to enjoy a drink and if there was any trouble, either in the pub or the dance hall, it disappeared on his bike. Or he came and cheered mom. But it was just, there was some, there was a knife fight one night. I remember this in particular in the in the toilets, in the in the boys playground. There was a knife fight, you know.
Who was that between and who?
The local lads and the Canadian airmen, actually. Yeah, but no one really got injured. They were separated before it got too far, but I know knives were drawn and it got rather nasty, you know, but there's usually a punch-up in the village when there's the village dance in any case.
Whether there were soldiers there or not?
Yes, yes. Oh yes. There was a pub across the road, so they used to go and get pretty tanked up in the pub and then come across the village dance, you know, I mean, as kids, I remember running around saying ‘ohh fight there’s a fight’, you know. And there were more people outside in the playground than there was in the pub. Yeah, it was good fun, really. There didn't seem to be the viciousness, somehow, you know, there was a fight and that was it. And it was all over.
Interviewer
Jeanne Carswell
Interviewee
Margaret Sparrow
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