大象传媒

This story was submitted to the Peoples War site by Ian Hayes of the GMR Action desk on behalf of Roy Hayes and has been added to the site with his/her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was 13 when war was declared. Before the war gas attacks and air raids were the worry. In 1938-1939 gas masks were issued. We heard Chamberlain's broadcast of war. Within 15 minutes, the air raid sirens went off. We sat in the living room with gas masks at the ready. It was quiet until summer 1940. At secondary school, when the sirens went, we used to shelter in the school basement and play games. It was better than having school lesson. I lived at Egham. Many evacuees were billeted here. For many months we shared our school with another--one school went in the morning, the other school used the building in the afternoon. I remember seeing the vapour trails in the sky caused by the planes. During the blitz, we collected shrapnel. The tails of incendiary bombs were particularly prized. Some skilled operators could grab an incendiary bomb and flick the bomb away from the tail before it fully ignited. The Germans soon put explosives into the tail

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