A great-grandmother who served as a Wren during the Second World War has described how celebrations for VE Day were happy occasions but limited by ongoing rations.
Mabel Kidney, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, was only 13 when the war started, and after she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) at the age of 17, she was based at HMS Daedalus in nearby Lee-on-the-Solent.
The 99-year-old said: “I joined the Wrens to see the world and I ended up over there.”
Ms Kidney, who lives at the Admiral Jellicoe House care home run by The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust (RNBT), described how she was in the barracks when the end of the war was announced but she said there were no major celebrations because they were still in a military environment.
She said: “I’m sure I was on duty on the day, I was in the barracks but it was quiet because there was nobody about much and it was just an ordinary day to me.
“There were hooters going off and stuff but you were in a military area so you weren’t able to have a knees-up. We weren’t expecting it really but it was good news.”
She added: “I was only with a couple of people on duty, we said it was good news and you could hear noises and that in the distance but there wasn’t a lot when I was in the barracks, I think the civilians had a better time really.”
Ms Kidney said that at around the time of the end of the war, she went on compassionate leave to look after her elderly mother while her father was away at sea.
She said that her family managed to celebrate when they were back together.
She said: “We did have a little one in the road because I was home then, looking after Mum.
“It wasn’t a party, you had that later on because there was no food, we had it with what we had but it wasn’t ‘party party’, I don’t know where I was when all that was happening.”
Ms Kidney said that her mother had spoken of her relief when the war was declared over.
She said: “She used to say ‘I never thought I would live through another one’ because my mum was old and when the war started I remember Mr Chamberlain saying we are now at war with Germany, I can remember my mum, she went over to her neighbour and they both cried together and I said ‘They’re making a fuss’, we thought it was a bit of excitement, really.”
She said that her mother said at the end of the war: “I thought I’d never see another one and I never thought I’d live to see my family through it.”
She added: “Everybody was very kind and friendly, helped each other all we could with everything. We still had rations for three years after the war, it was a long time, we hardly had anything.
“We only had the local boiled sweet manufacturer, as for fruit, you never got any, you couldn’t get a banana, the only way you got a banana was if you were pregnant for nutrition value.”
Looking into the future as the world marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Ms Kidney said that she was unsure that all the lessons from the war had been learnt.
She said: “It’s no good saying it won’t come again because all the things are different nowadays, but I still don’t think we get it.”
Debbie Dollner, RNBT chief executive, said: “The sacrifice Second World War veterans made to help secure the freedom we enjoy today is almost unimaginable.
“We’re incredibly privileged to have Mabel as our resident and are in awe of the stories she shares.
“Although they and others who experienced it will never forget the tragedies and devastation of war, we hope that by holding our garden party, we’re helping to recognise and celebrate the vital contribution they made.”
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