Wartime Fun

By John Spencer

Whilst World War 2 was a war of deadly horrors and destruction at the time and the sequelae persist to this day. However the children of the time actually found fun, enjoyment and entertainment in what they experienced and I now find it unbelievable I was one of them. Most of this paradoxical response was due to the courage and bravery of the parents and teachers of the times who shielded and protected us from the true reality of the horrendous happenings.

Now, when we thought we had at last conquered our primitive destructive impulses human kind is once again wilfully repeating the barbaric destructive behaviors against our selves that obviously remain in our collective psyches after thousands of years of so called civilization. Can or Will we ever change ?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: May 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781982294526

John Spencer

Chair of Urban Warfare Studies with the Madison Policy Forum and a Colonel in the California State Guard with assignment to the 40th Infantry Division, California Army National Guard as the Director of Urban Warfare Training.

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WARTIME FUN

John Spencer

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Copyright © 2022 John Spencer.

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ISBN: 978-1-9822-9451-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-9452-6 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date:  04/28/2022

CONTENTS

The Legacy

Rationing

Black Diamonds

Public Health And Welfare

Hen Food

New Bread

German Bread – A Nightmare

Mrs Wilcox

Free Entertainment

Evacuees

Prisoners Of War

Involuntary Prisoners Of War

War Time School

Our Very Own Bomb

Hazards Of School War Savings

Wartime Health And Safety

With God On Our Side

Ration Books And The Curious Tale Of Mr. Brain’s Trousers

Buses, Trams And Smoking Monkeys

Mr Macdonalds Monkey

Please May I Have A Bath?

The Little Wheel

Uncle Mac And Friends

Hello Children, Hello Children Everywhere!

Cricket, Cricket, Cricket!

A Lovely Bomb

This little book is dedicated to the parents and teachers who shielded us from the barbaric horrors and atrocities of 80 yeas ago but also to the present guardians who are now repeating this vital humanitarian role for the children of Ukraine.

World war two commenced in 1939 when I was only three years old and it raged on until 1945 when I was nine. Consequently my formative years, as they are sometimes referred to coincided with a state of war, destruction and a struggle for survival with official estimates for casualties being 75 million deaths, 45 million being civilians.

There are countless books, films and documentaries on World war two, representing various aspects, opinions, horrors and the sequelae of what was one of the most destructive and lethal events ever experienced by modern civilization. As a child of the generation who lived through these regressive and barbaric times I was not only unaware of the seriousness and possible consequences but as passive onlookers we were paradoxically entertained and amused by the associated activities of every day life. To a child that lived and survived was exciting! Some of these memories remain lucid whilst others are like palimpsests or images remaining on ancient parchments or neglected notice boards.

December 1940 seems a lifetime ago but despite only being 4 years of age many vivid memories remain.

Instead of being tucked up in my comfy warm bed in the upstairs front bed room of our semi-detached house in suburban Sheffield I was lying, half sitting uncomfortably in an old folding wooden deck chair in our Air raid shelter and although not actually uncomfortable