大象传媒

My Childhood Memories of WW 2 (For 大象传媒.)

September 3rd 1939, my mother and father together with my two younger brothers sat by the wireless waiting for the prime minister to make an announcement to the answer of the ultimatum that the government had made to Germany over Germany鈥檚 invasion of Poland.
After stating that 鈥渨e are now at war鈥� I recall hearing the first sound of the air raid siren, which must have been broadcast over the air?

My mother took us children (I was the eldest of three boys, aged 5,3, & 1) to collect our gas masks being issued from the warehouse of a local furniture company named Amos Reynolds in Collingwood Road, Sutton, Surrey.
One of us cried and an elderly lady hugged us and said, 鈥淚 have survived two wars, it will be alright鈥�.
Mother and myself had an adult gas mask; I 鈥檓 sure I felt very grown up; my younger brothers had a Mickey Mouse one I think.

We had an Anderson shelter that was part buried in the back garden. We used this to sleep in nightly during the blitz of 1940. Two things that were always with us in the shelter or wherever we went pretty much throughout the war was a small suitcase that had a change of clothes for all of us and a extra handbag of mothers that contained marriage and birth certificates and insurance policies, and later her Royal Navy pay book I believe.
As the shelter being part buried was damp, it was dug up and then re assembled in our front room (lounge) being placed against two walls with two supporting struts along the other side.
Under the shelter was a single bed for us children and a couple of chairs for adults, and we used this shelter during air raids until the end of the war.
It was then dismantled, reassembled, and became our father鈥檚 garden shed.

Our father was called up at the end of 1940 into the Royal Navy, and served until demob in 1946.
We boys had a photo taken for dad to take with him into the Royal Navy.
His square bashing was done at H.M.S. Royal Arthur, Skegness, and was Butlin鈥檚 holiday camp, after that he was based at Thurso in Scotland prior to being based in Portsmouth.
He served on the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Formidable, and H.M.S. Wolf, I believe this ship was a requisitioned Canadian Pacific liner in civilian life, but served as a submarine supply ship for the navy. His last tour of duty on the Wolf was out to Trincomalee, Ceylon in 1944.

With our father in the navy and two uncles in the army our only close male member of the family was our maternal grandfather, from 1940 to 1945.

Schooling throughout the war was disruptive for various reasons; at one time we went through until 2pm then home.
Once there were 3-4 classes in one room, each class in a corner.
When we stayed with our grandparents, all Christmas鈥檚 were spent with them, joining an aunt and cousin who had moved in with them after my aunt鈥檚 husband was called up into the army. They lived there until the end of the war.
A bed was made up for us four children under the stairs, in case of air raids, sleeping top and tail, this was the same way we slept in the single bed in our Anderson shelter after it was taken indoors from the back garden, and when our aunt and cousin stayed with us, mother and aunt in the two chairs.

Coal was rationed and there was never enough, but you could buy coke which was a by-product of gas manufacture (no natural gas then) and this was sold by the Gas Co. from the local Gas Works, on Wednesdays and Saturday, 7am to 10am, probably half a crown 2/6d (12&1/2P) plus a 3d tip to ensure good measure, for possibly 28lb.
My brothers and I would be up early on Wednesdays to get a load before going to school, Saturdays the same early start, so that we could get back for a second barrow ful to take to my grandparents.
Because of the shortage of fuel there was a place where you could load your barrow with all the wood you could carry for 6d (3p). This was wood from bomb clearance, rafters, floorboards and more often than not furniture. On one occasion we found about half of a grand piano, which we struggled home with, our mother was not best pleased. That this was the remnants of people鈥檚 homes and lives I don鈥檛 think registered with us children at that time.
Another incident I remember, it was near to Guy Fawkes 5th Nov. we three children were waiting outside a shop in the High Street, a lady gave us a 1d (penny) each, saying, 鈥淚f there wasn鈥檛 a war you would be collecting for your Guy鈥�. There was of course no Guy Fawkes/ bonfire night during the war.


I can recall the first night of the V1s (doodlebugs) in June 1944. I had been taken to the pictures (movies) to see 鈥淏uffalo Bill鈥� staring Joel McCrae by a neighbour, the film was at the County cinema in Sutton High St. later renamed The Gaumont. A message was flashed onto the screen advising that an air raid was in progress, this was always the case and you were advised where the nearest shelters were. There was no 鈥渁ll clear鈥�, however next morning we still went to school but instead of going into classes we went straight to the air raid shelters. Around mid morning the all clear went, mother arrived soon after, collected my brothers and I plus two of our neighbours children to take us home. We were 200 yards from the school when the siren went and almost immediately the ack ack guns were firing, the guns were based on Mitcham Common I think, quite frightening, we had heard them often before but we were always under cover, indoors or in the shelter. A lady from her house shouted to my mother to bring those children in here, where we sheltered until the end of the raid.
In 1944 when the V1 &V2s were falling the whole school was evacuated, and I believe many went to Yorkshire. As they could not guarantee three siblings could be accommodated together my mother refused to let us go, our grandparents arranged for mother and we three children to go to friends in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. We stayed for a couple of weeks.
Due to rationing I remember our main meal of the day was taken at the British Restaurant in Alloa.
I believe there was a British Restaurant in most towns throughout the war.

Throughout the war we three boys played (and sometimes) fought together, on occasions being joined by our cousin who was living with our maternal grandparents. In the main we went everywhere together with the strict instructions to look after each other at all times.
This maxim has stayed with us; I鈥檓 pleased to say, throughout our lives.

On May 7th 1945 I phoned my grandmother from the local phone box, when I got through grandma said 鈥� tell your mother Mr. Churchill is going to announce the end of the war tomorrow she must bring you boys up here鈥�, my grandparents who had a shop lived about a mile from our home.
After returning home early evening of the 8th May our neighbour opposite, whose nephew from Devon, same age as myself 11, was staying with her, was taking him to London with another lady, and offered to take me.
I remember that the trains and buses were just full of people, and the streets just thronging with men and women in uniforms and civilians, in fact the world and his wife was out to celebrate.
Street vendors were selling hats with messages on them saying, I think 鈥淕ood Old Winnie鈥� 鈥淚 Like Ike鈥� and lastly 鈥淕ood Old Uncle Joe鈥�.
We headed for the Mall, where we joined the crowds outside Marlborough House, home of Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, who were calling for her to come to the balcony, and singing 鈥淢ary Mary it鈥檚 a grand old name鈥�, until she appeared and waved.
After that we moved onto Buckingham Palace joining the crowds there to chant 鈥渨e want the King鈥�.
When they appeared on the balcony I was lifted up to see the Royal family, leaving one shoe on the ground, and, thank heaven, found it again when set down again.

Then it was street parties, bonfires, concerts and fancy dress competitions that seemed to last for weeks.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.