- Contributed by听
- millennium_vols
- People in story:听
- Mr and Mrs L Budd and Pam Gill and Roger
- Location of story:听
- Argyle Road Teddington Middlesex
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A3251314
- Contributed on:听
- 10 November 2004
A LIFESAVING CUP OF TEA
It was spring in 1944 bombing seems be more frequent. As an eleven-year old we children seem to take it in our stride. Walking home from school each day, we would stop to look over the Railway bridge to see which direction the smoke was coming from hoping, when you get home it wasn鈥檛 your house.
We had a nice house with a garden plus of course an Anderson shelter, which was used to sleep in, lots of toys and chickens for fresh eggs. Dad worked it out one day that the flying bombs (Doodlebugs) were falling near where the bombs were dropped; one fell at the top of our road on a pub, so he sent mum, my brother, sister and myself to North Wales to stay with friends. It was overcrowded, we would sleep three or four in a bed, but there were places to play safely and there was no bombing.
In July 1944 dad had finished work and popped into his mums for a cuppa, then decided to home. What a surprise he had as he turned the corner to Argyle Road, it was chaos, smoke, flames and people running everywhere. A Doodlebug had fallen where our house was; dad said 鈥渋t fell where the chicken run was鈥. He was in shock, nothing of our life left but at least he was safe, he could have easily been in the house should he have gone straight home and not stopped off for a cuppa.
Mum was sent a telegram saying our house was demolished, mum panicked, packed our bags and we caught a train back, not knowing where to go. Meanwhile dad had sorted a place for us to stay in Shoeburyness at his sisters for a while, another adventure for us children.
After a while we came back to West Molsey to another of dads to another of dad鈥檚 sister鈥檚 each time it was crowded. In-between working, dad was trying to find us somewhere to live and eventually he was given a flat in Hampton Wick, where we lived until after the war and we managed to settle into schools in the area.
Later there was a street party, down what was left of Argyle Road, we met up with old friends and had a group photograph, which I still have today. I do not think any of us realised what all our parents went through to keep us safe. Soon after, we had a new baby sister, life went on and we are here to tell the story.
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