Ann Goes to Newcastle, 1945

By Ann Barnes

When I was a little girl living in Northumberland towards the end of the Second World War, Newcastle seemed to me to be like Eldorado. I longed to go there to see all the shops and streets my mother had told me about but transport was very restricted in those days. Eventually when I was 7 years old the war ended on VE Day, the 8^th of May 1945. It meant that at last, my mother was able to take me by bus from Bedlington to Newcastle. It seemed a long way at the time but there was so much new to see. The first surprise was seeing trams as we travelled along the Great North Road, through Gosforth, past the Town Moor and down Barras Bridge to the Haymarket. After getting off the bus, mam and I were able to concentrate on the main objective of our mission; the shops in Northumberland Street. They were bigger than any I’d ever seen. The store I remember most was one called Marks & Spencer probably because my mother bought me two new dresses, one brown and white striped for school and one for best, a pale cream silky material with a primrose coloured collar and sash. Shortly after that visit to Newcastle, a big street party was held in Bedlington to celebrate the end of the Second World War with a tea party for the children in the afternoon. Fortunately the sun was shining and naturally I wore my new best dress bought in Newcastle and felt like a princess. Long tables stretched the length of the colliery rows near the shop where we lived and were full of sandwiches, scones and cakes. There were long forms for seats and we children had to stretch our legs over the forms to sit down. We proceeded to enjoy the food and when it was the finished the girl next to me decided to make a quick retreat. She stretched her legs over the form and left a dirty footprint on my lovely new dress. I went back home to mam in tears.