大象传媒

Pauline Holden is writing this story at the Surrey History Centre.

As an only child my family concisted of Mother and Father and certain close relatives. We lived at 74 Pine Ridge Carshalton and my identify tag on my bracelet read CMHR77/3.

My dad was good with his hands and very inventive. He made toys a strong metal swing, and an attractive fish pond in garden. When war started he dug in the garden and installed an Anderson Shelter and made steps down with a canopy over. He made a sound wooden floor and placed a mattress on it to make sure it didn't get damp. Radio on the shelf. electric light - kettle - all things for making tea and cocoa. It was very cosy. Even the cat would go down there. Father was a mechancial Engineering designer for accounting and tabulating machines at Thornton Heath. It was later called Power Samas. He was not called up but his war time was stretcher bearer at the local hospital. He always made sure that we were convinced that there wouldn't be a war.

I kept a diary during the war years and these are some of the hightlights:

January 1940: I was in quarantine for 10 days as a friend had scarlet fever. At the same time the River Thames was frozen over.

15 August 1940: Going to the cinema to see 'Daughters Courageous' and 'Vivacious Lady' and while going into the cinema we saw a dog fight overhead. An air raid was on while we were in the cinema and later we found out that Croydon was bombed.

31 August 1940: This was a Saturday. Going up to Victoria by train knowing that a warning was on we got down on the floor of the compartment when we heard a bomb coming down. It landed but not near enough to worry us. With other passengers we got up, dusted ourselves down and carried on to London. We went to the Strand Theatre to see 'Women aren't Angels'.

4th September 1940: Went to London by bus, Air Raid Warning went but no-one seemed to bother. We went to the Collisium and saw 'White Horse Inn'. Lovely meal at Lyon's Corner House.

Early October 1940: Went to Kettering to see Grandparents. Very dull - no raids and folk in the country were more worried than us. It was then that we put the car into storage for 2-3 years.

We slept every night in the Anderson shelter although my diary records that on 6th November 1940 I slept in my bed.

9 February 1941: Went with Dad to meeting of the Pine Ridge Fire Watch Party and took our gas masks to be tested.

14th February 1941: Went to a first aid class and Dad gave blood.

18th Februrary 1941: Had second innoculation against Diptheria. I think everyone did!

During the raids if we were at school we would go down into the shelters. Teachers would organise games etc to keep us out of mischief.

Children who had to cycle home long distances if the warning went, the teachers told them to find a house. There was one boy who did this and the couple whose house he sheltered in gave him a really nice tea. Thereafter, whenever the siren went, he found his way back there again!

26 April 1941: Went to a dance organised by WVS and NAPOC. Went dancing every fortnight or so. Both public dances or at Dad's factory. Also went swimming quite often and belonged to Dad's swimming club.

1st June 1941: Clothes went on ration. Didn't find this so very difficult because I used to sew and make lots of my own clothes. Fabric was less coupons than clothes. Lots of home knitting when listening to the Radio. I made mac for myself out of some green plastic.

5th June 1941: Mother and I went to a Civic Restaurant. There was one at Croydon and one at Bansted. You could get a good lunch there for a fixed price. No coupons were needed.

August 1941: We went on holiday to Babbacombe for a holiday by train. I had left school by then.

27 September 1941: Started a clerical job at an office in Banstead. The Federated Superannuation Scheme for Nurses and Hosptial Officers.

I joined the Women's Junior Airforce. The uniform was a grey skirty of our own but we had a forage cap and the uniform grey jacket that we bought. We met twice a week and learned about our own planes and German planes and drilled a lot. I became a seargant and enjoyed shouting the orders. My parents were quite suprised when they saw me shouting out 'Marker' and 'Squad Fall In'!

Went to a music club at the County School for Boys. Met once a week and lead to lots of rehearsals for Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas.

16 August 1943: Started work as a book-keeping clerk at Croydon General Hospital.

June 1944: Doodlebugs started to come over.

At work at our office some of us had our work on a Morrison Shelter. When we heard the motor of these 'pilotless planes' coming over we got ready and if the noise stopped that meant danger so we would dive under the table and wait for the explosion. And then just get up on our chairs and continue typing. As long as it wasn't too near it wasn't a worry.

We would cycle many miles around sometimes taking bikes on the train. We once went to Hurley near Maidenhead to camp by the River Thames, mainly to meet up with American soldiers. We really did behave ourselves - swimming and chatting a lot. How innocent we were then.

8 May 1945: VE Day
Mickie (my female friend) and I went with 'The China Boys' a local Wallington band to Battersea Poly and we danced the night away. We finished by making a bonfire with whatever we could find including tables and chairs. We all felt wonderful. I got home about 5 or 6 in the morning. Home with the milk. Then off to another dance at Imperial College the following night.

Other memories include:

Bexhill, seeing a doodlebug shot down by a spitfire over the sea. We were watching from a window facing the sea. Very exciting.

Finding shrapnel on the road going to school.

Looking back: It was a period when we had price in our country, respect for other people and their property, sorrow for the deaths. My handsome young cousin Norman (named after my father) was killed in France in a tank in 1944.
His brother was in the same regiment.

We had joy for life with parents relatives and friends. We loved the radio and listened to Arthur Askey, Dicky Murdoch, ITMA, Bandwagon. We went to the cinema once or twice a week and to the theatre in Croydon and London.

There was excitment over the bombing but not so much fear. We felt as long as we were together we were safe.

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