大象传媒

I was nearly 4 when war broke out. My earliest memories of the war are of a lorry outside the house and men cutting down the railings in front of the house next door, and collecting unwanted aluminium scap, saucepans, etc.
I can remember workman arriving at our house and digging a trench accross our garden and next doors garden and installing an Anderson Shelter.

I have vivid memories of the battle of Britain with fighter aircraft circling in the sky. Hornchurch Aerodrome was only a short distance away from Romford. As air raids increased the siren would sound and I was woken, wrapped in a blanket and carried down the garden to the shelter. Parafffin lamps were lit and the stench of oil and damp earth seemed to intrude on everything, bunk beds with lattice type bases and cold itchy grey blankets

Starting school I would walk about about 1.5 miles, exploring the bombed out shops and houses, clutching my gas mask in its cardboard case, and sifting the charred wood for shrapnel to swop with school friends.

Air raid sirens often interupted school lessons. We would march out to the air raid shelter in the playground and continue with our school lessons sitting on rows of benches.

One day I was upstairs when the sirens started to wail. I could hear the sound of an engine and the clatter of machine guns. Dashing into the front bedroom and looking out of the open window, to the left I saw a German aircraft heading down the road at very low level firing its guns at the three gas storage tanks to my right. As the plane passed I could see the german pilot with leather helmet and goggles, intent on destroying his target. That image has stayed with me, although I was young at thetime.

During air raids, I would try to sneak out to stand on top of the shelter to get a better view of aircraft in the sky. My foster father would do his evening Air Raid Warden duty, so I did not see a lot of him. In the latter stages of the war the flying bombs would come over and when the engine stopped I would dive into shelter.

We cultivated the vegetable garden and kept chickens, rabbits, and ducks for eggs. If we needed a rabbit or chicken killed, the local butcher would come over to 'do the deed'.

Towards D day American servicemen were in our town and as we passed them we would shout 'Got any gum, chum?' and sometimes a packet was passed to us. It was several weeks before sweeets appeared in the shops again and were not rationed.

I would not say that the experiance of war had any lasting effects on me

John Ketley, Bedford 28/05/04: Dictated to Ian Nutley

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