大象传媒

My Brooks family lived at 18 The Green, East Acton: Mum (36), Beryl (10) Brian (me, 5) and new baby sister Jasmine. Dad was Corporal Harry Brooks, on Searchlights.

Summer 1940. One day we were off to the shops, Mum pushing baby in our big black pram and me walking, looking for more signs painted on the pavement or anything new. I had to look for Nuns because they might be Jerries in disguise, there had been a story in the paper about Jerry parachutists doing this. I thought any Nun coming down on a parachute would look a bit suspicious anyway. I wasn鈥檛 really worried, I knew that Northolt Aerodrome was not far away and that their Spitfires were guarding us. About halfway along Old Oak Common Lane I heard something, a strange noise. In the distance, very quietly, dogs had started barking, and then the barking got a bit louder and closer.

Mum stopped, listening, looking worried. I very helpfully said 鈥淒oggies!鈥� Mum suddenly said 鈥淲e鈥檙e going back鈥�. Plonking me on the pram she spun round and started walking quickly. The barking got louder as more dogs joined in and Mum speeded up. I jumped when a dog in a nearby garden started yelping. As we turned into The Green we heard a siren a long way away, joined by other sirens, getting louder and louder and closer. Knowing my function in life was to be helpful, I said 鈥淪irens!鈥� just in case Mum hadn鈥檛 noticed.

Our local siren started howling as we crossed The Bye and Mr. Cuddiford, the ARP Warden, shouted 鈥滾eave the pram, I鈥檒l bring it in鈥�. Holding baby Jasmine and clutching my arm Mum ran through the back gate straight to our Anderson shelter and somehow got us all inside. Mr. Cuddiford wheeled the pram in, then brought the baby鈥檚 bottle and blanket to the shelter for Mum.

There was no bombing and the 鈥楢ll Clear鈥� sounded later. My Mum鈥檚 instinct that a dog鈥檚 hearing would pick up the sound of sirens before us was proved right. Once bombing had happened dogs would also know that the sound of bombers engines meant something frightening and howled to warn others. Grown-ups always took notice when a lot of barking started up, it generally meant 鈥渨atch out, there are Jerries about!鈥�

SHELTER ROUTINE
Going to the Air Raid Shelter involved Mum doing a lot of important things first: closing all the windows; closing all the curtains (if it was daytime); turning off the gas and electricity at the mains in the larder under the stairs; bolting the front door. Then taking to the shelter: baby Jasmine in a carry-thing; baby鈥檚 bottle; bottle of water; biscuits and comic (to keep me quiet); cushions; potty; me. If night time: blankets, torch (if the battery worked), candles and matches.

But the most important thing was a small oblong metal box, the George VI Coronation Biscuit Tin. This was Mum鈥檚 Safe. It held all the important documents, Ration Books, Identity Cards, Insurance Policies, Savings Book, Rent Book, letters, photos of us children and many other things. I wasn鈥檛 allowed to even touch it. 鈥淚f this gets lost I don鈥檛 know what I would do鈥� she would say, crossly. I suppose thinking about trying to replace all those things, filling in forms and loads and loads of queues was too much.

The back gate was always left unbolted for Mr. Cuddiford, our Warden. He would visit our shelters during a raid, especially the ones with just mums and kids, to make sure everyone was alright. Finally when we and everything was safely in the shelter the house back door was locked. Then, with the shelter door closed and children settled Mum could just sit back and wait to see if our house was bombed.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK
There were more day and night air raids with nothing much happening, so most things were prepared ready to go to the shelter when the siren sounded, but Mum waited to see what would happen. She thought it was much better to wait warm and dry indoors, and only use the damp shelter if bombing started and came close.

Apart from barking dogs there were other signs that an air raid was on the way. The music on the wireless would fade to just a 鈥榗rackle-crackle鈥� sound as the 大象传媒 broadcast was turned off, so that Jerry couldn鈥檛 follow the signal. The gas would stop as it was turned of at the gas works to stop fires when pipes were broken by bombs. The gas pressure was always low, anyway, as gas was used by factories, and it took ages to cook things.

Mum would be trying to heat something on the cooker for our dinner, then the gas would go out, then the 鈥楳usic While You Work鈥� programme on the wireless would turn into crackles. That meant that Jerry bombers were on their way. 鈥淭hat Hitler deliberately sends them at dinner-time!鈥� she would say crossly as 鈥楳oaning Minnie鈥� (the air raid siren) started howling. After the 鈥楢ll Clear鈥� had sounded and the gas finally came back on, she had to try and do something with the ruined meal to feed us. We ended up having a lot of 鈥楤ubble and Squeak鈥� thanks to Jerry!

Revised extracts from 鈥楢 Sheltered Childhood ~ Wartime Family Memories of an East Acton Child鈥�

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