Part Two...
In the fifties and sixties 'Bonfire Night' was still being celebrated; on the post War Isle of Dogs it was anticipated with excitement .Bonfires were built in small enclaves every few streets or so, on the bomb flattened open spaces we called debreys,  not realising the actual word was Debris (and its significance). There were also council-built housing estates, some pre war, where children with no gardens made their bonfires on small open places that didn't seem to belong to anybody. 

The 'Big Boys ' were in charge, it was a rite of passage to go collecting wooden joists, rafters and floorboards from the bombed houses that still remained at least fifteen years after the end of WW2.  The wood was piled up into huge wigwam shapes to await ignition as soon as it got dark, which was early in the evening, being November. Sometimes they had to be guarded because often other groups came and 'nicked' the wood. 

To add to the excitement fireworks had been bought from newsagents and hardware stores (no supermarkets then). Money for these fireworks had been amassed by begging ' Penny for the Guy'.  In a left-over part of the tradition of burning effigies of Guy Fawkes or the Pope, enterprising youngsters made 'Guys' ,small attempts to recreate a model of Guy Fawkes. These were normally made by stuffing an old pair of trousers and a shirt or sweater with newspaper to form a body and legs, with a head (normally a stuffed paper bag with a face drawn on it). You could buy Guy Fawkes masks, but the money was considered better spent on the fireworks. Even very young children sat outside pubs, bus stops and stations crying "Penny for the Guy". 

In the days before Health and Safety it was possible to buy Fireworks easily - any child could buy them. There was such a selection on offer, cheaper 'bangers' living up to their name, exploded with just a loud bang - these were very popular with the 'Big Boys'. Roman candles were the best for true pyrotechnic displays, with beautiful showers of multicoloured sparks changing colour with mild thuds and not loud bangs. There were Katherine wheels, coiled fuse type pin wheels spinning around, normally nailed to a flat piece of wood to keep it steady. Squibs were like a sort of crazy free Katherine wheel which jumped and wizzed in the air . Jumping Jacks were like a cross between a squib and a banger and jumped along the the floor - they were hard to avoid, and caused many minor burns! 

Burns you say! I have left out the absolute danger of every aspect of Bonfire Night. Children plus fire equals extreme danger. In this exciting and unusual use of gunpowder and flames it's obvious that accidents would happen. It was the most dangerous night of the year, the fire services tried to warn people about the misuse of fireworks saying "Follow the Firework Code". Nobody really knew what that was, I have witnessed children with their clothes smouldering and one girl with her hair burning. 

Even very young children were allowed to hold 'sparklers' thin rods of metal that seemed to have been dipped half way into some hard medium which when lit showered the holder with sparks, which falling onto young skin was quite painful! Holding  the hot met rods sometimes the wrong way up caused more burns. The 'Big Boys' were particularly cavalier with their bangers, throwing them at each other and holding lighted rockets by the stick. 

Rockets were normally stood in glass milk bottles pointing upwards. They were very dangerous shooting upward with a whoosh with a stream of coloured lights and then an explosion of star like colours. Sometimes the bottle tipped over and the rocket would shoot along the ground on fire causing cries of fear and dismay.  It was exciting but it was also scary. 

As the bonfire wood began to collapse inward, potatoes  were pushed  into the cooling embers to cook. It was a great honour to be given one of these cremated treats and it was only once I received  one.  Although it was burnt black on the outside and had no butter or cheese topping, the honour it bestowed on me was the only garnish it needed.  Eventually the fires burned down, the smoke hanging in the damp November air.  All was quiet only spoiled by the odd last minute banger exploding into the fume-filled darkness. 

The next morning TV and Radio stations reported hundreds of casualties all over the country, some very serious. The air still smelled of smoke and fumes. There  were calls for organised Firework Displays and fortunately for all this became more and more the the norm. Fireworks Societies were formed taking it all to a new level of safety and even more complicated displays. I know now there are wonderful displays at New Year etc  with drones adding more scope to the ever changing technology, but in my heart I know the best Firework Night ever was the one with the 'spud of honour'.

Barbara Liddell