大象传媒

My Father was a Haulage Contractor and owned his own truck we also had a car, a Ford 8. On Sunday morning 3rd September 1939 we were piled into the car Mother Father My younger sister and myself 10 years and seven months old, My Mothers Sister Phyllis her husband and my two cousins, we then drove to my Grandparents house in North Ormesby. We found most of our other relatives there and all seemed to be waiting for something to happen, we kids although playing in the yard as we always did sensed there was trouble but were not sure what. The normal things were going on Grandma helped by my mother and her sisters preparing Sunday Lunch, the men standing together and talking looking worried. Suddenly we were all called into the house and told to sit quietly as there was news on the Radio the focal point of every household at that time or those that had a radio they were expensive. I heard this voice saying we were now at war with Germany and at that moment the Air raid sirens went, I still shudder when I hear that warbling sound. There was total panic we kids were grabbed and thrown without ceremony into the cupboard under the stairs, it was dark and Grandma had told me one time the Bogyman lived in there possibly to stop me raking in the cupboard, a couple of minutes later the door flew open and soaking wet towels were put over our heads and the door slammed shut again. The noise from us kids weeping and wailing to get out was horrendous and we could hear the adults running about the house shouting, to me it was armagedon the end of the world the local preacher was always telling us about.
When we were quite hysterical we were suddenly let out and could hear the all clear being sounded. I can tell you it took a long time and many biscuits to calm us kids down although I do not remember the trauma stopping me from enjoying my Sunday Lunch an hour later.
It seems the adults had read newspaper reports that Hitler would open the war with massive air strikes flattening the towns and city's within days, we had all read about Guernica even us kids. The wet towels over our heads were against gas attack as we had not got our gas masks at that time. That was my very dramatic and frightening introduction to war and I remember my Mother crying over it many a night.
For my age group the war became our main focal point, we all had maps, knew all the flags of the country's and all the capital city's even the National Anthems. We mapped out the gains and losses we refought every battle as we heard the news of them and it was all very exciting. Living near the coast we got the German planes flying over night after night but that is a whole new story if any one wants to hear it.

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