I recently found, or to be more exact ,was found by, a "long-lost cousin", and she was really long-lost. She was born in 1932, and because of a family feud my grandfather forbade any of the family to speak to or see her or her mother. Her parents separated in 1934, and in 1939 her father, my father's brother, died. She had never seen a picture of her father, and she knew nothing about him until I was able to send her pictures and information. It was really thrilling to exchange photographs and information - although I have tried to avoid mentioning Rugby, for in 1950 she moved to New Zealand. She was describing to me the poverty of her early years in England, and told me how she and her mother lived for a period during the war in a "condemned House". She told me that because of the housing shortage caused by the bombing, people were permitted to again live in certain of the condemned housing. However, she said, this did not include children, and she then re! called how she would have to hide or go out when the rent collector or inspector called. I had forgotten about condemned housing, in my part of Portsmouth and Fareham there was none, but the phrase is not new to me. I presume that this included houses that were earmarked for slum clearance and those that were bomb damaged. Can anyone remember the conditions and situation at that time. Does any one have any memories of also living in a "condemned house"? Thanks David