大象传媒

In the 1939/45 Second World War, my mother, Daisy Lacey, born 1897, worked as a cleaner in a public house in Whitehall, London by the name of "The Clarence". Behind the pub was a large building known as the old war office. This was in Great Holland Yard.

My mother started at 7 a.m. and on some mornings, some German prisoners of war were taken to the war office for interegation, some of the POWs were from the Luftwaffe air crews who had probably bombed London the night before, or the previous night.

When these POWs were taken away, my mother, Daisy, would often see them taken from the back of the war office and loaded into vehicles, my mother would call out of the window of the "Clarence", all sorts of abuse she had, after all, had her house "blasted" several times. I often wonder whether they understood what she was calling out.

One morning in May, I believe it was 1942, a German "sneak" bomber dropped a bomb inbetween the "Clarence" and the war office building. The blast went towards the pub, this was just as the POWs were leaving the building. They were not injured. Unfortunately, Daisy was, the ceiling came down on her, broke her glasses, cut her head badly and she had cuts to her face, her arm and shoulder was badly bruised.

Daisy was taken to the old Charing Cross hospital and her injuries were attended to. My mother arrived home about 3.30 p.m. just as I was coming out of school. When I saw her, I was very upset and shocked, she then explained what had happened.

Daisy was more worried that she was unable to get to her second cleaning job at the Halifax Building Society in the Strand and was unable to let the Halifax know what had happened to her.

Daisy did not receive any form of compensation for her injuries and was annoyed that the POWs had got away uninjured.

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