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This memory has been submitted by The British Schools Museum on behalf of Mrs D Jarvis.

My most vivid memory of WW2 was of the day whn my school was machine-gunned by a lone German plane.

I was a pupil at Guildford County Girls’ School which stands on a hill overlooking the town and opposite the old Royal Surry County Hospital.

It was a fine summer morning in 1942 and my school friends and I were attending lessons as usual. About 11 o’clock the school alarm warned us that we must evacuate the building as quickly as possible. Outside we ran to the air raid shelters located alongside the school. My friends and I were excited and ‘giggly’ (possibly at the thought of missing our lessons!).

Our smiles soon turned to fear when we heard the sound of a low-flying aeroplane, followed by rapid machine gun fire and glass breaking.

The noise subsided and in time we heard the town siren’s all-clear sound, which meant we could leave the safety of the shelters and return to our lessons.

Our teachers were all concerned about the fate of the kitchen staff as the kitchen was situated in the centre of the school building.

Happily we heard later that only one lady was treated for shock and that the roof cupola glass had been shattered.

A line of bullet holes in the school wall remains as a chilling reminder of that memorable day.

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