What Did You Do in the War, Great-Grandmother?

I interviewed my Great-Grandmother, Mildred Widdop. She was married to Albert Widdop, my Great-Grandfather. They lived in an apartment in Wollaston. They had had three small children at the time. The three children are my Great Uncle Bert, Great Aunt Carole, and, of course, my Grandmother. My Great-Grandmother did not work at the time of the war because she had the three children plus her Mother-in law to take care of.

My Great Grandfather worked at Lawley's Shipyard as a welder, but he has since passed away. He worked around the clock. They made landing crafts for the troops to land on shore. My Great- Grandmother said that they could make a ship in three days. My Great-Grandfather wanted to join the armed forces, but they would not let him as he had three children at the time plus, he was a welder and that was where he was needed. Being a welder was important, as they needed him at home to help build the warships.

There was one more child born to my Great-Grandparents. He was born in 1944 a little while before the war ended. This child is my Great Uncle Bobby. When he was born, my Great-Grandfather was called or known as a lollipop at work because Lawley's Shipyard paid for all the employees' babies born during the war.

Here are some questions that I asked her. . .

What did you do to help the war efforts?

She stated that she had brought wars bonds. They went to fundraisers and rallies. She saved her grease droppings so they could make soap for the soldiers. They also saved their tin to be turned into bullets and to make guns. She would save her rations to get food. When the rations were gone, you had to wait until the next month to get more. She said, "We never ran out of food, but you had to be very careful. You couldn't get any eggs or sugar."

What do you recall about the newsreels and how they portrayed the war?

There wasn't much communication then, other then the radio. You had to always listen to the radio to get the news and then for updates you could go to the movies and see the pictures in the newsreels. We used to listen to Ernie Pyle on the radio. He was the news correspondent for the war. He was killed before the war ended. I don't remember how he was killed. I asked her if the pictures of war had frightened her, but she said, "No, but it was definitely reality. "

Did you feel that the war was for a good cause?

Yes, I thought it was for a good cause. They had to get Hilter out of there. England was fighting for a long time. They needed help and they begged the United States to help. Everybody had to help and, boy, did we help. We lost a lot of men, but it was for a good cause.

Do you think the wall broadened your horizons?

Yes, it had too. You learned to go without. The war brought a lot of families together. Everybody was poor and you made use of what you had. Your Great-Grandfather only made twenty-nine dollars a week and with that we had to pay the rent, buy food, and other necessities. It was the end of the Depression. After the war, a week's wages were better for everyone, and it was steadily going up. Social Security and health benefits began and there were better job opportunities, as everything had to be remade again.

What was it like when you heard that the war had ended?

Your Great-Grandfather and I were at a bean supper at a church in Chatam, MA. My mother was watching the children in Braintree, MA. Someone came into the church and yelled that the war was over. We were so excited and happy that we never ate our bean supper. We went straight home to my mother's house to celebrate. We had a wild night celebrating. Everybody was so happy that the war was over. They went nuts. There was a big parade in Quincy.

Posted: November 26, 2000

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