大象传媒

Between July 1940 and January 1942 I worked for a firm manufacturing military uniforms and equipment in Lexington Street, Soho. It was situated on the corner of Brewer Street, close to the Lex Garage. One morning a bomb dropped about forty yards away from us in Brewer Street, near the corner of Rupert Street. It demolished the building, passing through four floors and the street was filled with dust. Some very brave Canadian soldiers climbed up the rubble caused by the bomb and rescued people who were literally hanging on the walls of their demolished homes.
Soon after this incident the local A.R.P. organised fire watchers from surrounding businesses. One of the posts was our premises, supplied with stirrup pumps and the job was to extinguish incendiary bombs that fell in the streets or on roofs. As I was too young for military service, I was roped in. The trouble was when you were on watch, on for example a Monday night, you left for work on Monday morning, stayed all night at work during the air raids, began work again on Tuesday morning, not returning home until after work on Tuesday evening. You were hoping against hope that your own home hadn鈥檛 been bombed whilst you were away.
Another job I was detailed for was to go on the roof of the premises (it was four floors up) when the air raid siren sounded. I was accompanied by another lad, Joe Fleming, who was sadly killed during the last year of the war whilst flying in the R.A.F. Business carried on in the workrooms despite the siren sounding. Should the sound of bombs dropping come closer, we pressed a switch on the roof which sounded an alarm throughout the building. The staff then left their jobs and took shelter in our very large basement. Lucky us! were the last ones down as we had to check every workroom had been evacuated.
One morning, coming off fire watch after a very heavy night raid, I had a walk around the area and saw where one of the bombs had fallen in Coventry Street, a direct hit on the 鈥楥af茅 de Paris鈥�, killing most of the customers of this night club, plus the band leader 鈥楽nake Hips鈥� Johnson and his orchestra 鈥� what a mess when seen in the cold light of dawn.
We were living at number 7 Dawlish Street at the time, near the corner of Wyvil Road, off South Lambeth Road. Just a small house with a family living downstairs and us upstairs. The backyard was all flagstones so there was no air raid shelter. When the siren sounded, should the lady downstairs be out shopping, my mother would take in any washing that was hanging in the backyard, then grab the woman鈥檚 two little children and take shelter in the coal cellar under the stairs. With her rent and insurance books clasped tightly in her hand and the downstairs cat under one arm, she would wait patiently for the Luftwaffe to drop its bombs.
I would like to point out that when I had a look round the streets where we lived after bombing raids, most of the houses that had been damaged still had the stairs and the cupboard beneath standing intact. I think that鈥檚 where most people had sheltered during the Zeppelin raids of the first world war; that鈥檚 what my mother told me anyway, and she was always right.
One night the house was badly damaged by the bombing and was no longer habitable; we just had to find somewhere else to live. Fortunately my father was off duty with the fire service so we borrowed a costermonger鈥檚 barrow from Wilcox Road market, loaded on what bits and pieces were undamaged and pushed it around the streets to find somewhere to live. We were lucky to discover a two storeyed house at number 1 Walberswick Street off the South Lambeth Road, near the Tate Library. The ground and first floors were empty; we took up residence on the first floor and the family from Dawlish Street lived on the ground floor. Although the backyard was flagstones, a small area was earth and an Anderson Shelter had been installed there. Like Dawlish Street, the house was lit by gas light, courtesy of the South Metropolitan Gas, Light and Coke Company.
We suffered quite a few heavy raids there but were quite safe in the shelter. One raid in the vicinity struck a house nearby and most of the debris fell on the shelter, blocking the entrance. I managed to clear this with an old coal shovel which was inside the shelter. Although it was dark outside, a nearby gas main had been struck and by its light I managed to see what I was doing quite well. So, I imagine, did the German bomber crews!
Soon afterwards I received my call-up papers and in January 1942 I toddled off to No. 12 Infantry Training Centre at Canterbury, not being discharged until February 1947, although I was also recalled as a 鈥淶鈥� Reservist in 1952 for further duty.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.