It is well-known that bits and bobs used to ‘disappear’ from factories during the war, and the methods devised to avoid being searched on the way out of the gate sometimes bordered on the unbelievable.
Once the obligatory shelter arrived, our pocket-sized garden in London lost its appeal, and my father decided he would keep chickens and rabbits to help supplement our diet. His first problem was obtaining the materials, all of which he did, except the wire. By sheer coincidence, some wire appeared at the factory where he worked. After the initial joy at seeing this, doubts began to arise. How was he going to hide it until the fuss died down and then how was he going to get it through the factory gates without being searched?
Dad was an engineering blacksmith and the floor around the forge was dust and dirt. He cut a length of wire and hid it under the floor, and it only remained to think of the next step. Then eureka! He decided he would wrap it around his body and proceed to cycle through the gates as normal.
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The night came when he decided to put this plan into action and amidst the number pedalling away bent over their handlebars, was this one man, back like a ramrod. No one thought to question what must have been a very strange sight. His heart must have been thumping at a great rate, and he must have felt that the ensuing bruises after a four-mile ride home were worth it.
Margaret Norgan, Harlow, Essex.
