´óÏó´«Ã½

The author of this story has understood the rules and regulations of this site and has agreed that this story can be entered on the People’s War web site.

I was born in North London but in the war we were living in Sherbourne Road in Sutton. I was thirteen years old and was studying shorthand and typing at Greggs Shorthand College in Croydon, in fact I received my typing and shorthand certificate at 13 and a half years of age.

I used to go by bus to and from college in Croydon. I was coming home one day in the Summer of 1942, getting off the bus on the corner before Sutton Common Road when I saw a plane coming towards me, getting lower and lower. I saw the crosses on the wings so I knew it was a German plane. I though it was a Messerschmitt and, at first, I thought it might be crashing because it was getting lower and lower. As it came over the trees I heard the rat-tat-tat of guns and thought it was shooting at me. I ran towards home and fell in the door and the plane went on and flew away.

After I left Greggs College I was evacuated with my mother, sister, aunts and cousins — there were 12 of us in total — to Ruthin in North Wales. We all lived in a large empty house and some local people gave us furniture so we had something to sit and sleep on. I got a job in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing, even though I wasn’t yet 14) because I was the only person there who could take shorthand.

I was also evacuated to Worthing, Exeter and Westbury in Wiltshire.

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