When Mary Berry popped in to Upton House to officially launch its new wartime exhibition, we were thrilled to be able to have a chat with her about her wartime memories, her affection for the Cotswolds, and much more besides...

The outbreak of the Second World War had a profound impact on communities across the UK, with many thousands forced to leave their homes in an effort to escape the worst of the conflict. Now, a major National Trust project called Banking for Victory, means visitors can travel back in time to experience what life was like when historic Upton House, near Banbury, became a wartime bank.

The project was opened by Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry, who is no stranger to the Cotswolds. She grew up in Bath and has retained a strong affinity with the region.

Leaning against one of a brace of AGA cookers in the kitchen, Mary says, “I was given two nights at Barnsley House for my birthday and had a wonderful time. I love Burford; we often go to the Lamb at Burford and there’s a very old-fashioned place there where you can get all sorts things like Trumper’s shaving stuff. Burford Garden Centre is also brilliant.

“I go back to Bath all the time; I’m going soon to speak at a polio dinner.”

More than a hundred volunteers, dignitaries and visitors saw Mary open Banking for Victory by untying a bow in parachute silk in the historic Long Gallery. The hugely popular cookbook author and television personality shared her wartime memories of rationing, air raid shelters and terrifying bombing raids.

Just four when war broke out, she recalled one horrific night in her home town of Bath when she woke to learn that more than 400 people had been killed, and 900 homes destroyed.

She says, “I can remember collecting shrapnel. There were barrage balloons in the sky… the wires were meant to catch the aeroplanes. We had gas masks, but we never wore them. Everything stopped at 8 o’clock in the morning to listen to the news. Radio was so important – I can remember Churchill’s voice. We had ration cards and my mother said at the beginning of the war “if you don’t have sugar in your teas and coffees I will be able to make a cake or pudding from time to time,” so we all instantly gave it up.

“Everybody was producing food in their gardens and everybody shared. We had a goat and chickens, and after the war on VE Day I can remember my first Victoria sandwich. Mum made it and I remember my godmother was there. We all sat around with paper hats on our heads that we had made from newspapers. It was great.”

Of the Upton House project, Mary says, “I am just enthralled by it all. I remember playing on typewriters like this after school. The one difference here is that visitors will be able to take part. You can imagine how children who have their computer in their back pocket will be thrilled to bits. It’s all about taking part if you want to.

“The whole of the bank was brought from London. I just imagine the employees here who may never have been in the country and who may never have worn a pair of wellington boots. It would be a totally different life for them. Everything in the dormitories is what I remember.”

The recreation also extends to the impressive kitchen at Upton House, where iconic kitchen brand AGA has helped the National Trust in its strategy to reduce its energy bills, replacing two old and inefficient oil-fired cookers with a pair of innovative contemporary models.

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For more information on the Banking for Victory recreation at Upton House, call 01295 670266 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/upton-house