Sonia Scott
Interviewee: Sonia Scott
Interviewer: Cory Rogowski
Date of Interview: 22 March 2002
Length of Interview: 120 minutes
Sonia Scott was born in Oldham, Langeshire, England on February 6, 1943. During the German bombing of England during World War II, she and her mother moved to Northampton, England—a little safer, but not completely out of harm’s way. Her account of life as a child during the war is captivating. In this interview, she tells of the everyday trials of war and how the people of England dealt with them. Ms. Scott tells of the children evacuated from London into the English countryside and how some people took in children for the money and others because they genuinely wanted to help. She tells of the bus that came every day at 10:00 am regardless of the local situation, of people going to work even when the existence of their workplaces was questionable. Ms. Scott describes listening to the planes and rockets in fear, wondering where the bombs would land, waiting to hear the explosion. She speaks of the air raid shelters—portable shelters made of steel that were placed inside houses and underground shelters that were breeding grounds for disease. Ms. Scott remembers being required to bring a gas mask to school every day and describes the Mickey Mouse design created for the young children so that they would not be afraid to wear them. She also describes the activities that the children in her village partook in during the war. These include playing in the rubble of exploded bombs and telling the police when they found unexploded detonators among the shrapnel. Ms. Scott tells of one particular morning when she and her mother, who separated from her father before the war, woke up to find that the row of houses across the street had been completely destroyed during the night. In the interview, Ms. Scott also recalls her family’s view of the Nazis, German soldiers, and American GIs in England. The interview concludes with Ms. Scott’s comparison of World War II with the current war against terror.