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The prefabricated homes that were erected soon after the end of the Second World War were an absolute life saver to the British people.

Whole estates of prefabs were constructed to provide accommodation for those made homeless and ongoing slum clearance. Almost 160,000 had been built in the UK by 1948 at a cost of close to £216 million.

Prefabs were aimed at families, and typically had an entrance hall, two bedrooms (parents and children), a bathroom (a room with a bath) - which was a novel innovation for many British at that time, a separate toilet, a living room and an equipped (not fitted in the modern sense) kitchen.

Many of the buildings were designed with a 5-10 year life span, but far exceeded this, with a number surviving today. In 2008.

What I remember most about living in the prefab was the cold. There was only the one small coal fire in the living room and the kitchen was heated by using the gas stove. Apart from that there was no possible way to heat the bedrooms, hallway, toilet or bathroom.

The coal fire did have a back burner which when lit would give hot water but by the time I was old enough to remember, the back boiler never worked. There was also an immersion heater in a cupboard in the hallway but this was only switched on once a week for a weekly bath due to money being virtually non-existent. Apart from that hot water came from the kettle and the kettle only. Strip washes were the norm.

With our once a week bath we got our once a week hair wash and as are with many things now, hairdryers for the ordinary people had not been invented, so hair was dried in front of the fire.

The "fitted kitchen" came with a copper for boiling cottons and whites and I vividly remember my Mother heating up water in the copper by the gas jets below it to bathe my younger sister, Penny, and I in during the very cold winter months. The reason for this was because in my Mothers opinion it was far too cold to bath us young ones in a freezing cold bathroom. Instead she would blast the gas cooker away to heat up the kitchen and then proceed to dump us standing up in the copper.

I don't know if it's my young mind remembering wrong but to me it seems that all winters then were harsh. Long icicles would not only form on the outside window sills, but on the inside as well. My sister Penny and I would love to wake up to see the windows all frosted where "Jack Frost" had been and to break the icicles off from the inside to see who could find the longest while in the kitchen Mum would be calling us through into the warm kitchen.

The coal fire in the sitting room was very rarely lit during the day as Mum could barely afford to buy coal. Coal was bought as and when Mum could afford it and sometimes ran out before she had the money to buy more. When it ran out the gas stove was lit in the kitchen, a settee was dragged in there and that is where we would spend the evening until the next lot of coal was delivered.

When the bedrooms became far too cold to sleep in Mum would bring two single beds into the living room, placing one each side of the fireplace. My older sister and I would sleep in one and my younger sister would sleep in the other with Mum. The beds were also always brought in to the living room on the times whenever my younger sister Penny and I came down with any form of childhood illness.

Blankets were scarce and often times weight and warmth were added to the covers by using coats thrown on top. I never remember sleeping cold, but once those covers were thrown back it was absolutely freezing, and ones breath could be seen on making the mad dash to the kitchen in the early morning where the warmth would be.

I knew of no one in those days that had fitted carpet. I am not even sure it had even been thought of in my very early years. Mostly people would have either polished floor boards or linoleum and on top of that the largest square carpet they could afford.

Unfortunately Mum could afford neither linoleum or carpet. The whole prefab had polished floorboards apart from the living room and kitchen which did have linoleum. We must have had some sort of rugs as well but I honestly can't remember those. I do remember a rug in the hallway at some point as my sister and I used to take turns pulling each other up and down the corridor while the other was sitting on it. I also remember the new lino being put down in the living room on or about my 9th birthday, but I can't remember what was there prior to that. Whether it was lino or floorboards I honestly can't say.

Our bedrooms were very bare. Prefabs came with built in cupboards, draws and wardrobes and therefore there was no need for any added furniture apart from beds. And beds were all we did have. I am sure there must have been some sort of piece of furniture somewhere in those rooms but if there was I don't remember it. I simply remember two empty bedrooms with bare floor boards and each one having a bed in the middle of it.

My Mother was fanatical about keeping the place clean and tidy. Her family used to joke about always seeing Maggie with a broom in her hand. She hated to see even as much as a book lying around when not in use and we had to put one toy away before getting out another. This was apart from Christmas time when Christmas toys stayed out for many days in the living room.

I do remember getting very upset one time at an injustice on the part of my Mother. I would have been about 7 or 8 at the time and was bored one day. I had noticed that a lot of fluff and dust had collected in the cracks of the floorboards in the hallway. I thought it would be fun to get a sharp tool of some sort and hook all that offending fluff out.

I don't know what I used, maybe a screwdriver or more likely a kitchen knife, but I do remember sitting there for a long time going up one floorboard and down the next dragging all the bits out and leaving them sitting on the board they came out from. I remember thinking how pleased Mum would be when she saw how much dirt I was getting up for her. Not so!. She finally realised that I had been too quiet and not sitting reading in a corner as I was want to do, but that I was missing.

Coming through to seek me out and finding me sitting on the hallway floor surrounded by dust and fluff she hit the roof. I got a slap and shouted at for being naughty. I never minded a slap, but I did always go to pieces when shouted at. I did cry my eyes out for that one, not only at the shouting but at the injustice of being told off for misbehaving when I thought I was doing Mum a big favour.

But hey ho, life is full of little injustices.