大象传媒

I left school at the end of spring term 1939 aged 171/2.
For a few months I acted as Receptionist, at my fathers dental practice in Putney SW15.

On Sept 2nd, my mother and I were at Wandsworth Station, to help with the evacuation of small children from London.
Their ages ranged from babies in arms, to primary school pupils. It was heartbreaking watching these little ones, each carrying a tiny case and gas mask in a cardboard box, with a luggage label tied to their coats, bearing their names and addresses.
They were saying goodbye to their parents and no-one knew where they were going, or how long the parting would last.

The train with us all aboard departed and eventually arrived at Reading Station, where we were escorted to a local school. Preparations made to receive us all, were poor. The only place to lay the babies was on school desks and it was many hours before all the children, were taken to their new homes.

The next day my mother and I started our journey back home, but the train was stopped, when the air raid sirens sounded.
All passengers were herded into a small wooden hut, used by railway repair men. It turned out to be a false alarm, but it was very scary for us all, waiting to be bombed at any minute!

After that I continued to work at home for a while, until a patient of my Dads, mentioned that a new branch of Scotland Yard was to be set up in Putney High School. They were looking for local staff and after an interview, I started working there on the pay and allowances staff for the War Reserve and Special Constables. This was classed as a "reserved" occupation and I enjoyed this job for over two years.

During this time there were some heavy air raids and I did fire watching at night and helping to clear houses that had been hit.

In the period 1940-41 some Belgian refugees were bought to Putney (hardly a safe haven) and to make them feel welcome, my parents and I formed a club in a local church hall.
Here they met for a chat, tea and entertainment. This was much appreciated and after the war, we visited them in their own homes. This was a lovely experience!

In 1942 my job at "The Yard" suddenly became not "reserved" and I was conscripted into the Army Territorial Service. I found this new life very traumatic, as I had spent 8 years of my youth, in a girls boarding school in Sussex.
The culture shock for me was extreme!

After basic training at Guildford, I was posted to The Royal Army Pay Corps in Northampton. From there I was transfered to Aldershot, where my health soon began to deteriorate. We were billeted in WW1 married quarters and through a freezing winter, we had no heat in these tiny houses. Any hot water required, had to be collected in buckets from down the road.

After a few months I was transferred to London, where I lived in what had been a large beautiful house in Grosvenor Square London W1.
It had been stripped of all its finery, including carpets and at night we could hear mice scampering over the polished floors. Fortunately I had a top bunk!

Eventually I was allowed to live at home and spent the rest of my service in a large R.A.P.C. office in Liverpool St London.
On my very early morning trips to work, I had to pick my way over the sleeping people, sheltering on the tube station platforms. My return home at night was spent dodging through the V1 and V2 rocket raids on London.

My four years of army life were memorable but not happy. When I was offered a third stripe, as an incentive to remain for another year, I declined with thanks and returned to my jobe at "The Yard" which had been saved for me. Here I stayed until I married.

I do not regret my wartime experiences, as I was given an insight into the lives of others less fortunate than I. It also enabled me to realise that there was much more to see, outside my hitherto protected environment.

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