WWII

When WWII came all British men were conscripted into the service. This left many jobs unoccupied, jobs that need to be done to keep the city running. In order to take care of this need the women were conscripted for two years to fill those jobs. Doris was conscripted into the city bus system. She was a conductress; she collected tickets and helped passengers. During this time she had an accident. In the early morning hours, as she walked though the bus barn she did not see an open mechanics’ pit and fell in, breaking several ribs. She was taken to the hospital for about five days, then home to recover. Her two sons Eric and George were working so Grace had to go stay with an Auntie Doris, a sister to her deceased father, a woman she had never known.
After two years Doris went back to work for the Haslem sisters, and started where she had left off. She worked this job until she retired at about 60 years old. Later, she would occasionally work a few hours a week at a nursing home, using some of her old nursing training.
During the War Doris also served on the A.R.P. (Air Raid Patrol) two or three times a week. Once she was having an A.R.P. meeting at her house so she gave George and Grace some money to go to the picture show. They went and upon returning George notice that the adults were still there having some refreshments, so he and Grace quietly went up stairs and to bed. After the meeting was over and the group had left Doris began to worry about her children not being home yet. She walked down to the picture show and could not find them anywhere. She checked with the neighbors and no one had seen them. At this point she began to panic and called the police, who began inquiring and searching everywhere, turning up nothing. By this time it was close to midnight and Doris was very, very upset. Finally someone went up stairs and found both George and Grace asleep in their rooms. The next day Doris was busy making apologies to the many people who had been involved in the incident.
The European sector of WWII ended on May 8, 1944. All over the city and in neighborhoods people were celebrating. On Doris’s street they built a big bon fire, people were singing and celebrating. Doris walked home and took the ugly old black-out drapes down that had hung in the house all during the war; she brought them down to the bon fire and threw them in the fire. The war was finally over.