Memories of the Cold War
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Memories of the Cold War
Barwicker No. 120
Spring 2016
The Cold War, when we were all threatened with complete destruction
by nuclear bombs, did have lighter moments.
I was in the Ranger Guides (older girls than the Girl Guides) when the
Cold War was at its height. Our leader was approached by the local
Civil Defence authority to take part in a survival course together with
the local Rover Scouts (older boys than the Scouts).
When I told my parents the reason for the course my mother wondered
why 'anyone would want to bomb Barnsley' whilst my father just
warned me 'not to be led astray! '.
Around twenty of us attended the course which consisted of one
evening a week for six weeks. We met in the garden of the Civil
Defence Headquarters outside Barnsley where we were confronted by
a heap of rubble - old cans, dustbins etc.
Our task was to learn how to cater after the destruction. Other groups
would learn how to build shelters etc. We sorted the rubble out and
built a firebox from bricks, an oven from a dustbin, and a heat
conserver from a tin box in a straw bed.
We tested the unit and got smothered in smoke but after modifications
managed to get it working. Nobody had yet told us where the
uncontaminated food would come from in the future.
The final meeting was on a Saturday when we made stew with meat
and vegetables followed by apple pudding. I was surprised that nobody
complained later of food poisoning!
The Civil Defence personnel were pleased with our comradeship and
how we had used our heads but wished that we had acted more
seriously. J think we should have received some sort of certificate but
that was not as important as finding out that we could survive when the
bomb was dropped on Barnsley.
MARY EATON
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