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This story was submitted to the People's War website by Dhimati Acharya, of East Sussex Library and Information Services, on behalf of Philip Child and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was born in Twickenham in 1928 and was 11 years old when war was declared in 1939. I was a choir boy in church on Sunday 3rd September when the Caretaker came into church to tell the Vicar that war had been declared. The Vicar said all those who wanted to could go home but the service would continue. The air raid siren sounded shortly after this and again the Vicar said people could go home but he would continue with the Service. This was subsequently proven to be a false alarm.

There were six children at home, myself, one sister and four brothers. My mother discussed with us the possibility of evacuation, with the proviso that the family would not split up and we all must go or stay — we all decided to stay at home.

I had only been at the Senior Boys School for a week when all schools were closed — during this period Air Raid Shelters were erected on the school playing field for both the Boys and Girls Schools. The remainder of the grounds was to be used as allotments. We spent many hours watching workmen building air raid shelters on the recreation ground adjoining our school — we ran errands for them, collecting cigarettes and lemonade from the local sweet shop. We were always rewarded with small change for ourselves to spend on sweets.

A scheme was set up for children to be met by teachers for impromptu lessons and homework in convenient houses. Mr. Naden, our teacher, met at our house with me and four other boys and we had lessons with homework for the following week. This eventually stopped when the school re-opened.

Back at school, the Air Raid practices were high on the list and we were all made to walk — not run — to the shelters which were allocated to various classes. There were electric lights, Elson toilets and benches to sit on which went down both sides of these tunnel like shelters.

During the early daylight raids we were given Horlicks tablet after being in the shelter for ½ hour but this was soon abandoned. If the air raid was still on at home time boys who lived only a short distance away were allowed to run home.

The school playing field was divided up into allotments and my brother Jack and I were allocated one. I still have in my possession a silver medal for the best allotment dated August 1941.We used to collect cigarette ends to make up into spray against black-fly and collected horse manure for the ground. At home we had an Anderson shelter in the garden but this was always damp and cold although we used this for all air raids. We all had Identity Cards and my number was BUDM/23/6, the rest of my family had the numbers 1-8.

Rationing of food and clothes started. We kept chickens in the garden, about 6 hens, and had to give up our egg ration so that we could buy chicken meal which my mother added to scraps. We also raised cockerels from day old chicks which were fattened up for Christmas. One night an incendiary bomb fell at the bottom of our garden and a lady ARP warden, who lived three doors away, put it out with a stirrup pump. The roof of the chicken run was burnt but not the chickens.

Three doors away an incendiary bomb fell through the roof — the husband was working night duty on the railway and another neighbour passing by climbed up into the loft as the bomb exploded which blew him down the stairs and killed him.

The only boy from school who was killed by the bombing lived about half a mile from us, his house was destroyed and he and his mother had been sheltering under the stairs.

Boys collected shrapnel from the streets in the morning from AA shells which they kept in tins. My brother Harry and I went on holiday to my uncle’s in Kent and saw many dogfights between German and British aeroplanes.

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