Angela Rawlinson

Angela (Anne) Rawlinson was born in Burwell in 1933, as were both her parents. ‘My first memory was of an ARP warden cycling along the Ness Road where I lived at the time, ringing a bell to announce that war had started. We had an air-raid shelter in the garden, and took evacuees, I don’t know how we managed in a two-up two-down. My father was an auxiliary firefighter and The Fox public house was the fire depot then. I don’t remember much about the bombing, but I do remember incendiary bombs landing on the railway line in the village …’

Time Topics described
00:00:00 Tape Introduction
00:00:30 Angela (Anne) Rawlinson born 1933 in Burwell Village
00:00:45 Earliest memory is outbreak of war being announced by ARP warden
00:01:00 First house in Ness Road then moved to North Street during war years
00:01:30 Air raid shelter in garden of two up two down house
00:02:00 Had evacuees during war
00:02:15 Father was a fire warden at depot in garage of Fox public house
00:02:45 Incendiary bombs along railway line
00:03:15 Father Bertram Goodchild who was a builder who worked on airfields during war
00:03:45 10 aunts and uncles in village, no brother and sisters
00:05:00 Grandparents lived next door in North Street
00:05:15 Father worked on University Library in Cambridge and built several houses in Burwell
00:07:00 Memories of St Mary’s School, Burwell and then school in Cambridge when 11
00:08:45 In Girl Guides
00:09:45 Mother and daughter evacuees provided a friend to play with during war
00:10:30 Visiting father at fire station
00:11:45 Cycling to Newmarket and getting into queue for sponge cakes
00:12:30 Learning German at school and enjoying science
00:14:00 Took civil service exam at 16 and went to work for ministry of labour
00:16:00 Typical day in Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds employment office
00:17:00 Married at 21. Husband, David, worked in his father’s garage in Burwell
00:18:30 Enjoyed dancing with husband at Athenaeum in Bury St Edmunds
00:19:30 Shared house with husband’s parents for 6 years and had two children, Davina and Robin
00:20:30 Husband worked as a drainage engineer in Upware during harsh winter of 1963
00:21:15 Eventually returned to live with Anne’s parents in Burwell
00:21:45 Memories of village when father was alive
00:22:00 Grandson now lives next door and grand daughter also lives in village
00:23:00 Burwell shops
00:24:00 Memories of Steven’s windmill and mineral water works
00:26:00 When King and Queen came to Burwell village
00:27:15 Memories of uncle’s farm and great uncle’s threshing machines
00:28:00 Gleaning on farm (picking up corn for chickens)
00:29:00 Close family connections
00:29:45 Soldiers stationed at nearby Grange
00:30:45 Paying for health services before NHS
00:32:15 Spent a lot of time at church and walks in the meadows on Sundays
00:33:00 Holidays at Lowestoft and London
00:34:00 Had an allotment during war
00:36:00 Husband started a laundrette in village in 1973 and went on to have 7 laundrettes
00:38:00 Old photograph of parents at an unknown gathering
00:39:30 Photo of Anne (Goodchild) dressed as an aeroplane from page 73 of Heather Richardson book, Fancy Dress Victory Celebration
00:40:28 Finish