大象传媒

My most vivid memory of WW2 was the time spent in an Anderson shelter. I lived with my parents in south east London near Woolwich Arsenal. Ther was a park opposite where barrage balloons, a small gun and searchlights were situated.

My mother, brother and myself used to play Ludo in the evenings which helped my mother relax a little before the air raids started. As soon we heard the wailing of the sirens we would go into the shelter which was in the garden. Sometimes it was very dark and we would carefully use a torch. Usually the sky was lit up with searchlights. Often we could see fires where the German planes had dropped incendiary bombs.

We often took a jug of hot cocoa with us as it was very cold in our shelter. Also, every evening the kettle and several saucepans would be filled wih cold water as sometimes the water mains would be damaged which meant no water in the morning.

Once in the shelter we would continue our game of Ludo by candlelight. Then the terrible noise would begin of the guns, droning of the planes and the thud of the bombs falling. It was very noisy and frightening.

We were all very pleased to hear the All Clear siren but wondered if we had any damage to our house. Sometimes there would be a fallen ceiling or a broken window. The plaster and glass were put onto the kerb to be collected later by a lorry. The ceilings and windows were patched up and repaired properly after the War.

We were always hoping for a foggy night as planes would not fly which meant a good night's sleep in our bed

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