War time family relationships By Leo Wurpillot

Some of this is true but some of this is fiction. OH PARSNIPS! WWWWIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRR! That was it. Marcelle shoved a pillow over her head in despair at the noise that the German bomber planes passing overhead were making yet again. It was the third time that month that Birmingham was going to be bombed by the German air force. She always felt sorry for the Brits, especially those who lived in Birmingham and her heart sank as the engine faded into the distant night. The following morning, she didn’t have any breakfast: she didn’t feel like it. Food was scarce and they had to fend for themselves. She’d spent most of the previous day bent double tending to the family vegetable garden that was meant to feed her and her four brothers and sisters. Although she felt hungry nearly all of the time, the fact that she’d had parsnips for tea for six days on the trot was making her stomach complain. Then suddenly from out of nowhere a German solider said: ”Oi you ! Where’s the nearest shop?”. In fright Marcelle ran to her father for help and he dealt with it.

Facts about Marcelle Marcelle is actually my French great grandma. She was only 15 years old in In 1945 when she turned 18, she promised she would NEVER eat another parsnip ever again because she had had to eat so many during the war! She also told me she saw German bombers sometimes fly overhead to bomb Britain. Marcelle lived in Ecrouves, in the Lorraine region, France, with her father, two brothers and her younger sister. Her mother died when Marcelle was about 10 years old so she took on the caring responsibilities of her siblings. She told me that one day she had gone into a shop and there was a lady with a pram who seemed to be behaving nervously in there. Marcelle asked her if she was alright and the lady replied: “Be quiet!” Both Marcelle and the lady then left the shop. The next day Marcelle read an article in the newspaper that reported that the railway bridge in her town had been blown up! A few years later, after the war was over, Marcelle found out that the nervous lady had actually been carrying the explosive in the pram-there had never been a baby in there! I think this was pretty smart!

This IS entirely true. My French great grandpi was called Roger Manier. He was captured by the Germans and was taken to Germany to work in a factory. A year later he pretended to be ill and the Germans took him back to France. Roger had to work in an office next to his home town doing forced labour. He was in charge of keeping records of other people who were made to do forced labour by the Germans. He had to record when they would arrive for a ‘holiday’ back in France. Roger often forged the records so that they could stay longer or would ‘forget’ to report that they did not return back to Germany. In fact when they had to go back, many ran away, hid in the woods and stayed there until the war was over. The rebel

The eagle Bernard Alan Sansom was my great Grandpi on my mums side of the family. He hated his first name so he went by the name ‘Al’. He was part of the RAF and flew a bomber plan called a beaufighter (pronounced ‘bow-fighter’). My great grandma used to count the planes that took off and came back in. One day my Great Grandma was counting the planes return and she didn’t see my great grandi’s plane come in. She waited for hours trying not to worry. When he eventually did come back he explained why he had been so long. He had completed his mission and then during his return back to base, they had got shot at. One of the engines had been damaged and stopped working. He had flown all the way back across the channel on just one engine and had got him and all his crew safely back home! He was a bit like an eagle trying to stay airborne with a weight tied to one wing!

The eagle

Remembrance