大象传媒

鈥淭his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Diana Bransby from the Haywards Heath Library and has been added to the website on behalf of Norman Sugarhood with his permission and he fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions鈥�

My grandfather, Barnett, came to the UK in the early 20th century from Poland. My father, Samuel, was born in 1908 and came to the UK in 1912 but had never become naturalised, so when war broke out he was considered an alien.

Three days after was broke out it was my 5th birthday. We lived in Elm Park, Essex which was within a mile or so of Hornchurch RAF station, so we had to leave our home. Dad was working in the barbican. We moved to a rented house in East Ham, probably in early 1940. During all the big London raids we were bombed out. It was Saturday 7th September 1940 (I remember because it was the day after my 6th birthday) my mother Gertrude and my sister Rita who was 2 years older, and I, were in the Anderson shelter. Dad was at work. The house was bombed but, because of the burst gas mains in the street, a policeman came to fetch us from the shelter and took us to some huge underground shelters beneath the shops, in East Ham High Street. They must have knocked through the cellars under the shops to create such huge shelters. They must have been big because of the vast numbers of people there. When dad got home from work, the house was bombed, the Anderson shelter empty, and no-one to tell him where we were. After hunting around the area he saw a policeman in East Ham High Street who told him lots of people were down in the shelters and so he found us!

Dad continued working in London and we moved to Marlowe, Bucks. We moved from there again, after about 9 months, back to our own home in Elm Park, which remained intact. Dad was finally called up to join the RAF and we were able to stay where we were at last! We had the extra protection by then of a Morrison shelter in our front room. It was about 8 ft square, made of very solid heavy metal plate, supported on metal posts with wire mesh sides, so getting into it was like going into a cage. I hated it 鈥� it was so claustrophobic!

I went to the local school, Benhurst Avenue County Primary, until I went on to grammar school in 1945. My primary education and the war ended together and we never had to move again. Dad became a British citizen.

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