Page 6 - News and Views Spring 2023

Sheffield in time of war recollected by Laura Sunderland (aged 87 in 2022)
We lived in Sheffield in time of War
When tall factory chimneys were smoking
And even the sheep were grey, on the moor.
Tram-cars rattled us to school,
Past bomb sites, terraced homes and shops.
We trundled along for just four stops.
Children were many and teachers few
But with love and good rations, children grew.
War hung over us, a huge black shadow
Which never went away.
But adults tried not to show their sorrows,
Giving hope for tomorrows and love for today.

First Day in the Juniors There are sixty-seven children in my class!
So many friends!
The morning register never ends.
We aren’t ‘mixed infants’ any more;
Joined-up writing is the score.
AND WE ARE USING INK!
With paper short, we made a start
To learn times-tables off by heart.
And we were happy there;
‘Miss’ was strict but fair.

Springtime In Spring, along each window-sill
Were rows of jam-jars, which we’d fill
With runner beans, to watch them grow
On blotting-paper, and show
How little roots and shoots emerged.
A miracle of life occurred!
And there were tadpoles in a bowl of glass;
We really were a privileged class!

I became a TADPOLE MONITOR!
After school, we monitors trooped along
To the wash-rooms, bearing with pride
A bowl of wiggling, wriggling tadpoles.
Into the basins these would slide
There to remain,
Until their water was pure again.
Then with cupped and gentle hands,
We caught each one, giving him a name,
To return to the bowl from whence they came.
How glad was I to go home for tea
NO LONGER AN EVACUEE

Summertime In Summer, when the sun did shine,
As if by some mysterious sign
Every girl brought a rope to school.
We skipped on our own
We skipped in twos

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