大象传媒

When I was approx 5 years old, in 1944, I was taken to Tenterden in Kent to the wedding of my uncle who was at the time on leave from the Army. My unce, who was my Mother's young brother, married alocal girl. The intention was for my Mother, Father and I to stay for a week but on the night of the wedding we saw, from the upstairs window, our first 'doodle-bug'. This was a fairly common occurence in the South of England as I think the Germans sent them over to mainly concentrate on the London area. From memory it seemed to me, as a child, like an unmanned plane of sorts which made a whining sound before dropping a bomb. The effects were devastating and many people were killed. I think that, unlike the usual air raid there was no warning siren beforehand.

Needless to say, we left the following morning as My parents felt we were safer at home 'up North'. We made our way by train to Kings Cross Station only to hear the siren going and an announcement that all trains were stopping until after the raid, obviously for safety reasons.

We spent the night underground at Kings Cross where hundreds of people were sheltering from the air raid and it has always stuck in my memory how many people sang and tried to stay cheerful. For Londoners this had become a way of life. I remembering giving my treasured teddy bear to a baby down there.

The next morning we boarded the train for Newcastle and home. We were absolutely exhausted and very hungry and were grateful when the train stopped at Grantham and it was announced that refreshments were on sale. My Father got off the train and queued for sandwiches. I can remember the panic we felt when the air raid siren went off, the train pulled out immediately and my Father was left on the platform. I cried all the way to Newcastle because through a child's eyes, even though my Dad was a soldier and I knew he had to go back 'to the war', I really thought I'd never see him again.

We made it back to Newcastle but had to spend the night in the Central Station (not the best of experiences)until my Father arrived on the next train from Kings Cross. It must have been a nightmare for my Mother and is one of my first memories.

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