Doodlebugs, Gas Masks and Gum

Six years of conflict, where military manoeuvres, bombs and exhortations to greater dedication to the War Effort were a daily staple, became the normality of our childhood after September 3rd 1939. For young children, this was a time of great excitement. Imagine the thrill of: Anderson shelters built in back gardens; Concrete blocks and barbed wire sprouting on beaches; Soldiers and tanks in the streets; The Battle of Britain and those spectacular dogfights; The Blitz and masses of shrapnel to collect; Searchlights lighting up the night sky; American servicemen appearing and their inexhaustible supplies of chewing gum.