'VE Day was wonderful, we danced until 1am'
BBC/Mick LunneyA Rotherham woman has told of the "wonderful" relief VE Day brought after years of living in fear during World War Two.
Betty Quinton, who grew up in Kiveton, recalled how her head teacher pulled no punches when warning about the dangers of the Blitz, telling pupils "all the kids would be killed" if a bomb were to hit her school.
Betty, 94, has chronicled her experiences in a book, That Man Called Hitler.
She said VE Day on 8 May 1945 saw fear give way to a party atmosphere, with "more than 100 people of all ages, including us children, dancing until 1am".
Betty was eight years old at the outbreak of World War Two in 1939, and recalled seeing her parents putting tape on their windows at home to prevent glass shards from flying across the room in the event of a bombing.
She told the BBC: "The windows at that time had only got small panes.
"You had to put tape in a criss-cross pattern across all the windows.
"My parents told me that it was because if a bomb dropped it could shatter and we'd get badly cut from flying glass.
"I think that was the first thing we did.
"We also made blackouts, every window had to have a blackout of some sort.
"We didn't have electricity, just lamps and candles, but we had to stop light from being seen from outside in case it attracted German planes."
BBC/Mick LunneyBetty said her school head did not hold back when speaking to pupils about the potential consequences of war.
She said: "A bomb could drop and all the kids in Kiveton would be killed, because all the children were in the school which could be hit, he said.
"He told us that he'd arranged places at homes near to school for us to go to with our gas masks in the event of a warning being given."
Betty got a first-hand experience of large-scale bomb devastation when she visited Sheffield with her mother.
She said: "Mum had relatives in Sheffield, I couldn't believe what I saw.
"The big shops all gone, all in ruins, big holes in the road.
"Some of Mum's cousins had been killed in The Marples pub which got a direct hit."
The elation following the end of the war and the announcement of VE Day was unforgettable, said Betty.
"We got two days off school, it was wonderful.
"Just to think that the things your life had depended on - gas masks, the air raid shelter - they were no longer needed.
"There was a party in our street, more than 100 people of all ages, including us children, dancing until 1am."
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