大象传媒

In the blitz I used to hate going into street bomb shelters or sleeping downstairs in the family shelter, so I used to sleep upstairs and walk around the streets as normal, somehow knowing that I wouldn't be hit by a bomb. I knew I had done the right thing when I heard the news that a young friend of mine, along with several other people, had been killed by a direct hit on the street shelter that they were all taking refuge in.
One day I found 'my very own bomb', and here is how it happened, in the winter of 1940. My father, who worked nights, at the Evening News Offices, had come home just as I was about to leave for the City where I worked near St Paul's. He told me that the building in which I worked for a wholesale and retail bookseller and newsagent, had been bombed during the night in one of the worst raids. My mother suggested that I take a flask of tea and some sandwiches as there would be no cafe's open. After a difficult journey, going so far by train, and then walking across Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill through fire hoses and rubble, I reached what had been Peternoster Row and Warwick Lane. I met ther est of the staff in Warwick Square - which had somehow survived - and stayed with them while our boss went to find other premises. The buildings in the area were made of wood and it was like being in Dante's inferno. Miraculously, thanks to the fire watchers on the roof, St Paul's Cathedral was O.K. I got chatting to the fireman and learned that they had been on the job for many hours and did not know how much longer they would remain on duty; furthermore, the WVS were unable to get around with hot drinks and food. Knowing that I would be going home to a hot meal later on I gave them my tea and sandwiches to share between them. A short while later the boss came back having found a shop in Newgate Street, comprising a ground floor, basement and a small yard leading to a kitchen and toilet area. Being the youngest member of staff, it was my job to put the kettle on to make a pot of tea. One morning, I unlocked the door leading into the yard and discovered an unexploded incendiary bomb lying there. I put the bomb into a fire bucket and took it up to show the boss. "Miss Barnes GET RID OF IT!" So off I went with bucket and bomb to find a policeman. Unfortunately, then as now, there was not a Bobby to be seen. There I was, me, four foot ten of nothing, wandering the streets with an unexploded incendiary bomb! Eventually, I found an ARP Warden and gratefully handed it to him; then much relieved I hurried back with my empty bucket, to the shop, where someone gave me a very welcome cup of tea.

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