大象传媒

It was the 7th November 1943, 3 days before my 5th birthday. My grandmother and Aunt were visiting my Mother and I to give me my birthday present, when the sirens announced a raid. It seemed like hours, but it was probably minutes when bombs started to fall and our small flat started to shake. We all managed to get under the dining room table while the bombing went on. I suppose as a young boy I found it exciting, although I did not know any other existence. The explosions seemed very close and noisy. When the all-clear was sounded, we went to the back door opened it.Looking westwards towards Putney High Street, I can clearly see the red sky now after all these years. My grandmother said that some of the shops in Putney High Street must have been badly hit. We waited for a time and then I was put to bed. My grandmother and Aunt managed to catch a trolley bus to Clapham Junction and then onwards by tram to Camberwell. It was later recorded that a 500lb bomb had landed on the Black and White Milk Bar, killing some 20 young people and injuring 200. I shall never forget how the sky appeared to be all "lit up" that night.

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