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This story was submitted to the People's War site by Carolyn Bull, a volunteer from Millennium Volunteers, on behalf of Lucy Kathleen Elliott and has been added to the site with her permission. Lucy Kathleen Elliot fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was born Lucy Kathleen Griffiths in March, 1934 in Uxbridge, Middlesex and was five and a half years old when World War II broke out in September, 1939. I had been on holiday with my parents in Westcliffe-on-Sea, in Essex and my father had been recalled. He was a painter and decorator, but was also a part-time policeman, which was called a ‘Special’ so for the duration of the war he became a full-time constable. This had a big effect on my life as in those days policemen were greatly respected in the community as upholders of the law and, as his daughter, I was expected to behave impeccably!
We lived in quite a dangerous area, being close to RAF Northolt and RAF Uxbridge, the latter being the control centre for all the fighter air fields in the south of England. As a result many children in the district were evacuated but I would not leave my mother.
Each member of the family had an Identity Card and I still have mine. I went to Whitehall Infant School, Uxbridge, wearing an identity disc around my neck and carrying my gas mask. Every morning I took 6d to buy a National Savings Stamp to help with the war effort.
The playing field of the adjoining Junior School was dug up and large concrete underground shelters were built. I remember that those for the Infant School pupils had pictures of animals at the entrance instead of numbers to enable us to easily recognise our shelter. When the air raid siren sounded we had to file down to the shelter and we stayed there until we heard the ‘all clear’. So we had many lessons underground. Each child had half a pint of milk each morning and Horlicks tablets that were quite pleasant to suck. I also remember that when necessary the crates of milk were taken down to the shelter with us.
When the raids more frequent the school used to close for a time and so I had to have lessons at home. Children who lived in the same vicinity were taught in the home of one of the pupils by a teacher from the school. I was a particularly small child, very nervous and had been afraid of school but at last I started to enjoy it, surrounded by my friends with an elderly and very kind teacher, Miss Dunkley. At the time most of the teachers were elderly, as the younger ones had been recruited into the armed forces. Our Headmistress was Miss Royle.

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