Pearse Family Wartime Memories in Cheltenham

My Grandparents, the Pearse family, lived in Cheltenham. My Grandfather worked at the Gloster aircraft factory building aeroplanes after previously being employed as an engineer in the Royal Air Force.

They had an Anderson shelter in their garden which my mother recalls being in listening to the air raid sirens, and my Grandfather also kept rabbits which were shared with their neighbours as meat was in short supply during the war. Rationing also meant that they had to use powdered egg and potato peelings to make pies.

My Grandmother loved fashion but had to make do and mend for much of the war, unpicking old jumpers and then re-knitting the wool to make new items of clothing. Nothing was wasted; parachute silk was always sought after, especially for wedding dresses.

One disturbing story I recall happened after an enemy bomb landed in Churchdown near Cheltenham, a lady with German ancestry, Mrs Page, who lived nearby was turned on by her neighbours.