大象传媒

Early in the war petrol became a strictly rationed commodity and many car owners gave up using their cars for much of the rest of the war, turning instead to alternative forms of transport. In rural areas horse drawn transport was often pressed out of retirement and put back into service. Like many people, my grandfather got out the old gig from his barn, where it had been sitting for years and drove by horse and gig for much of the rest of the war.

Against this background, the arrival of a strange car in the village was the cause of great excitement. My grandfather was able to speak to the owner of this magnificent vehicle and remenisce about driving, while my mother, who was a toddler at the time was more interested in the wonderful headlights on the car. After a while the man drove off, but I believe he must have lived quite locally.

A few years later (I believe after the war), when my mother asked her parents what had become of the car with the big headlights they revealed to her that the car's owner had been arrested as a spy for the Germans. Apparently, he had driven out to pre-arranged spots during air raid blackouts, removed the blinkers from his headlights and pointed them skywards to provide a beacon that the German planes could use to check their positions against as they flew over Kent on their way to bomb London.

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