大象传媒

I remember very well when war was declared as at almost 12 years of age, my school summer holidays were being spent with my very good Auntie Emily and Uncle Andrew Who lived in Chingford.

The morning of September 3rd 1939 the radio was on, and we were listening to Winston Churchill. After that, everyone made for their air-raid shelters to start bailing the water out as there was so much inside, and smelt very musty. There were some bunks about 4 I believe, so my Aunt and Uncle started to put in some blankets etc., plus, very important,a torch.

Soon after that, my eldest brother Alec had cycled from our home in Buckhurst Hill to my Aunt and Uncles to say I now had another little sister who was born the day before which was the 2nd of September, now being 7 children. She was to be named Janet.

When returning to my parents Margaret and George and the rest of the family, it was lovely to see Janet, and so tiny.

We also had living with us mother's sister auntie Lizzie who used to help my mother a lot, and also, uncle Jack who repaired all our shoes.

My eldest sister Ivy who was a dressmaker had to go and work in an ammunition factory De La Rue in Walthamstow, mainly working with grenades. She was taught from the age of 4years to play the piano, by another Auntie May (Williams)

At De La Rue, Ivy was the piainst for the factory Workers Playtime Shows, and the workers, mostly girls, (as so many of the men were called-up for the war) dressed up and put on the shows, they were wonderful with such nice songs. "Workers Playtime" on the radio was always lunch-time which we listened to.

My eldest brother Alec started work at age 14 at a wire works factory in Leyton and then for the Guardian Newspapers in Walthamstow. But then had to work on ammuntions for the Plessey Company, which was in Vicarage Lane Ilford. Being next to the railway it was a target for the enemy. The machinery was in the basement, Alec worked a milling machine which grinds things to the exact measurement like bomb cases. The offices were on the second floor above. One night while he was working a bomb dropped and exploded on the second floor wiping out everything. Soon after that incident he was conscripted, and into the Royal Artillery as a gunner, and serving with the Central Mediterranean Forces.

My younger brother Dennis was still at school, and with my next younger brother Douglas at Princes Road Boy's School. At weekends they would most likely go into the forest or woods and often come back with a rabbit or something. Even to this day I can't look a rabbit in the eye. They used to take a ferrett with them. But we were never hungry during the war our parents saw to that.

The house where we lived was in a direct line with the Balloon Barrage (as we called it, as the ballons were nearly always up). and the heavy ack-ack site, which was no more than a distance of 1/4 of a mile almost next to the RAF camp which was also in Chigwell.

The summers those days were summers , sunny and warm, much different to the seasons now.

When there had been heavy raids with bombing going on, we would find ourselves without water. Next day water carts would come round and everyone would rush with their kettles saucepans buckets and whatever else one could grab hold of, and there we would await our turn for the man to fill our container at the side of the warter cart. Oh! those were the days.

The sirens would quite often sound, and we would watch the planes fighting in the sky but it was always a blessing to hear the all clear. The Siren was situated right next to the police box and phone box by the Railway Bridge at Buckhurst Hill. Right opposite my very good friend Betty Leeks house, number 2 Roding Lane, the cottages are no longer there, Betty, I believe still lives in Buckhurst Hill but have lost touch with her.

During the summer I was home one lunch time, there was a raid on, I was eating my boiled egg with bread and ? there was a lot going on outside, A German plane dropped a string of bombs fortunately in soft soil in the field, which was next to the house next door.

My mother during the daylight raid heard the loud sound of a plane getting quite close, so she opened the back door, which was to the side of the house, she looked up and saw the pilot of the German plane in his cockpit, something she never forgot. He flew low between our house and the house next door. Most probably to get below the balloons, I do not know what happened after that.

Of course everyone had to have blackout curtains at the windows and you were not aloud to have a peep of light showing from the house, if so, you would find the air raid warden knocking on your door saying put out that light.

My younger sister Maureen had not started school in those days and of course Janet was still a baby.

Our parents decided we should all be sleeping downstairs, and so my father put two beds together one on top of each other, but fixed together on blocks, so we were all quite happy about that,consequence being, no one went to sleep very early and Janet still slept in her pram.

Later on, I think it was April, there was another bad raid, and a Land Mine landed in the field next door if it had landed just a few feet in, onto the end of the road it would have caused much more damage.

The Mine exploded and my auntie was thrown to the end of the hallway with the door ontop of her, glass covered Janet's pram, glass everywhere, Maureen was crying, the beds fell on the boys and Doug ended up with a massive bump on his forehead. My sister Ivy knew something had happened when she got off the bus at the Stag, by the time she walked down the hill and home,it was chaos.

We stayed at the Buckhurst Way Clinic until the morning, where other people were, from there a sister of my Mother, Auntie May(Gower) very kindly let us stay with her and her family, until we were moved to a requisitioned house 94 Queens Road B/H until after the war and our own house was made safe and fit to live in.

When we moved to 94 rations were very tight, so to compensate we kept chickens, rabbits, and ducks, the duck pond was a bit smelley to say the least. I could'nt eat the chickens ducks or rabbits, but could manage an egg. But we all enjoyed the dried egg allocated.

Bananas were almost nil, those my Mother was able to get were given to Janet mostly, as she suffered with whooping cough for a year and the bananas were to build her up.

Both Janet and Maureen began school whilst we were living in Queens Road and attended St.Johns Church of England.

When moving to Queens Road which we all enjoyed, we had a Morrison Shelter in one of the rooms, it was made of steel, bottom and top, with steel mesh on the four sides. We felt quite safe under there during the raids. It was surprising how many could sleep in there when neccessary. We also had a brick built shelter with bunks inside, in the garden

V bombs and Doodlebugs started coming over. My Uncle, Arthur Bird was killed by the first one outside Bush House as he was going to work.

My father was doing war damage repairs during the war, one daytime, in Woodford he and the other men were working, they heard this thing and then it cut out, looking up they found it zig-zagging and they were running in different directions, then it landed causing considerable damage, thankfully missing the men.

It was wonderful when VEDay arrived with all the celebrations going on, the Red White and Blue everywhere, the Union Jacks, the bunting the bonfires,

My friend Betty and I decided to take both my younger sisters Maureen and Janet to London for the celebrations, we all enjoyed the time there, the atmosphere was unbelievable. By the time we returned to Liverpool Street Station it was midnight and the last train had left. Like everyone else we then slept on the floor until the trains started to run in the morning. When we arrived at Buckhurst Hill Station discovered the station was all locked up, and we could'nt get out, there also happened to be a neighbour with his two little girls trying to get out of the station. In the end we were all climbing over the fence at 7am to make our way back home, all very tired. But would'nt have missed it for the world!

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.