大象传媒

BASINGSTOKE BOMBS AND THE WAAF BY NORAH HOLT

This is an edited version of an interview by Nina Koch on13th May 2004. The original recording and full transcript are held in the Wessex Film and Sound Archive, ref. BAHS 118. 漏 Basingstoke Talking History.

In 1938 at the age of 14 Nora went to work at the Rectory of St Michael鈥檚, Basingstoke (now Chute House) as a parlour maid.

The War started while I was there and the Rev. Chute was an air-raid warden. The day I remember most was the day of the bombs. I was preparing the table for the evening meal, about six to six-thirty. The air-raid siren had gone. And I happened to look out of the window and saw six bombs falling from the German planes above Church Square. It was very frightening. And we had to be evacuated as one bomb landed in the Rectory grounds and had to be detonated. The back staircase was gutted, badly damaged.

After the bombs had dropped and we鈥檇 all calmed down, we went into the kitchen and the oven door had blown open and the chicken had flown straight out of the oven door, across the kitchen and straight out of the back door. And I remember the Reverend Chute saying, 鈥淥h, we won鈥檛 worry about dinner tonight!鈥�

We were told to go home. It was a very cold night, I remember, and I think I got home [Pamber] about eleven o鈥檆lock that night. And my Mum said, 鈥淲hat are you doing home?鈥� And I said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e been bombed!鈥� It was a very frightening evening, very frightening. There were some killed in Church Square. There were such beautiful houses round there, where you had all the doctors and dentists, and it was just gone.

I was nearly four years at the Rectory and then from there I went into the Forces, the WAAF for six years. That was quite enjoyable really. I was attached to the Motor Transport Department. And I got stationed in various parts but mostly I was in Hertfordshire. I got bombed there too! We were in our quarters at night on the station and the aircraft came over and they machine-gunned us as we were running to the shelters. We had about a couple killed that night.

I was always a bit worried going back from leave because we had to travel through London, of course, to get to Hertfordshire. I went back one night and we were stuck under the Underground at Welwyn Garden City because of incendiary bombs on the line. And we were there for two hours. They eventually cleared them and we got off.

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