大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Sue Smith on behalf of Freda Gregory and has been added to the site with his permission. Freda fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions
In 1939 I was working as a kitchen maid for a couple in Bideford, Devon. Their son, Commander Didden and his wife came to stay for a holiday and asked if I would consider moving to Waterlooville to be nanny to their two children, John and Ann. They found a house in Purbrook and he was stationed at Weymouth. After a while they moved away so I stayed in the area and found a job with Dr. and Mrs. Langmaid, looking after their two children John and Diana. One day I was travelling by bus from Jubilee Road to Purbrook to visit my boyfriend when a German plane bore down on us. We had just got to Plant Farm and the plane started to machine gun the bus. The driver pulled to a stop at Deverall Hall and we all jumped in the ditch. Bullets rained around us but fortunately no one was hurt. I continued with my journey and later heard that the plane had been shot down over Crookhorn. In May 1941 I was married and had to change jobs and work in a munitions factory in North End, repairing fuel tanks, and then later I went to work in the steel shop in Wadhams. My husband was called up in the army and spent the rest of the war in the Middle East.

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