大象传媒

LOST TOYS

My name is Joan Denyer and I was born in November 1941, therefore I do not have many memories of the Second World War, but there is one thing I remember clearly and that was when we were bombed out.

It was in July (I am not sure of the year), the reason I know it was July was that my Dad was on his weeks annual holiday from Woolwich Arsenal and it was about 6.30 to 7am, My Mum,Dad, Grandmother and I were in the Anderson Shelter when a Doodle Bug came down with its engines still on a couple of streets away from us, we lived in Sandbach Place, Plumstead, London, our house was reduced to a shell and all our home was gone. The thing I can remember so clearly was amongst all the rubble was a tin bath with soft toys in, (who collected them up I don't know), I was so pleased to see them, but I couldn't have them because they were covered in glass - I was broken hearted and cried my eyes out that I had lost all my toys.

Although we had lost our home we were very lucky, because if it had not been the Arsenal holiday week my Dad would have been in the house getting ready for work and would have been killed, in fact thinking about it we could have all been there.

One funny thing my Mum told me, was as they opened the Shelter Door to see the devastation my Grandmother said to Mum "Is my hair alright?" my Mum replied "Bugger, your hair, I have just lost my Home" (Mum wasn't one for swearing but I think she had just course that day).

Mum told me we had to live in the Shelter for a week, before friends found us rooms, there was no gas or electric, but it was a roof over our head and after a few weeks and much hassle we managed to get the gas put in (the gas company wanted us to pay for the installation as they said the house could be bombed and they couldn't get their money back, but Mum stood her ground and the gas company paid for the installation). I can remember it being a very dark and cold place.

Toys were very hard to come by during the war, but somebody who Dad worked with made soft toys and he made me a teddy bear who was much loved and was with me for years, unfortunately he was attacked by moths and eventually had so many holes he had to go to Teddy Bear Heaven!! I inherited my cousins china dolls when she had grown to big for them, one was called Wendy and the other Janice, (poor Janice, before I inherited she had a lump knocked out of her head, which luckily didn't break, was it was duly stuck back.) It wasn't until I was about 8 or 9 that I had a new doll of my own and I still have her today, she is sitting on top of the chest of drawers while I type this.

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