War as a child in Barnet, Hertfordshire

<p dir="ltr">As a child, my father lived in council housing in Barnet in Hertfordshire. They were a one parent family and his father worked in a local coal yard and was a firewatcher after dark.</p><p>When he was eight/nine years old he was left at night to look after his twin brothers and two sisters. They would become afraid in the dark and send him out on his own to search the garden for parachutists!</p><p>They were given a turkey to fatten up for Christmas but my Dad was a real animal lover so when it was time to kill the turkey he released it and it escaped - probably to be eaten by another family!</p><p>Guinea pigs and rabbits were kept to be eaten when times got tough - needless to say Dad died of old age!</p>