大象传媒

My Mum and Dad had a standing joke between themselves.- It went:- 鈥淲e got married and War broke out鈥�. In reality, it turned out to be no joke at all. Mum told me later that, when they had changed trains at Kings Cross and Waterloo, coming back from their Honeymoon in 1939, the Stations were crowded with Evacuees, children who were being moved from dangerous areas, where bombing was likely, to safer areas in the countryside, or towns elsewhere, which were at that time thought unlikely to be bombed.

By now, I was already conceived, and by the time I arrived, the War had begun in earnest, and I became a War-baby. Many years later, I was fascinated by seeing in a War Museum a baby鈥檚 respirator against Gas attacks, (the horror of which had lingered on from the Trenches of W.W.1). This was not the 鈥淢ickey Mouse鈥� gas-mask for toddlers and young children, which I wore later 鈥� (that had an awful rubbery smell, which I thought might be 鈥渢he gas鈥� itself!) - but the 鈥榝ull Monty鈥� where Baby was put inside, and Mum pumped continuously to provide Baby with air.

My Dad (husbands in that era were often quite senior to their young wives) had fought in W.W.1, which in a strange twist of fate, had saved his life, when during his Army service, he developed appendicitis. Some years before, King Edward VII had suffered this same malady, and been successfully operated on (the first appendectomy?) It is a credit to our Country, that the King鈥檚 Men received the same treatment as the King himself 鈥� the Army surgeons operated on my father, he recovered and then soldiered on.

By W.W.II, my father was older and had been relegated to the Home Front, as part of the Auxiliary Fire Service. This meant that he was often on-Duty when Air raids were likely, (which was very often at that time), so my Mum and I were left alone in our house. With my favourite cherished 鈥淩upert the Bear鈥� Book, we went to sit in the 鈥淧antry鈥� under the stairs, (this thought to be the safest place in an Air-raid, its sole dependence being on its lack of windows, or possibly, it occurs to me now, because in the worst case scenario of a direct hit, the angled stairs might produce a cave-like refuge from which we might be dug out alive). For my own part, I was largely unperturbed by 鈥渢he bombs鈥�, not having much idea what they were, though I was well aware of my mother鈥檚 terror, which she controlled as well as she could for my sake. My contribution to her frightened state was to 鈥渞ead鈥� to her aloud from my cherished 鈥楻upert Book鈥�. Of course, I couldn鈥檛 read then, but I told her stories suggested to me by the pictures 鈥� which were in 鈥榮trip cartoon鈥� form .I sometimes wonder now what the stories were really about - my version featured only Rupert 鈥� I had no interest in any of the other characters! (Rupert on television in much later years gave no idea of any connection with 鈥渕y鈥� version!)

On the odd occasions when my Dad was there, we all went to the Public Shelter, which was some distance away, and I was carried on his shoulders, carrying in my turn a pink and blue fluffy-toy rabbit, my favourite 鈥淐uddly鈥�. One time, on the way there, always an urgent and hurried journey, I dropped Bunny. I must have shrieked like a mother bereaved, for my Dad promptly stopped and retrieved him, and we hurried on, I with a stronger grip!, while I considered my Dad to be the bravest person in the world.

It seems strange to me now, that for 6 years, we had all lived in an active War situation, with all its horrors and fears, and that was the only life I ever knew for the whole of my early childhood. You might suppose a child like that would be largely unaware of the situation in real terms, but over twenty years later, on hearing a Fire Station siren calling out a Standby Crew, I screamed! It was embarrassing, but it shows how those long-gone days of fear were engrained in the memory for ever.

When the War ended, all I remember is sitting on the bottom steps of our staircase, thinking to myself :- 鈥淣o more War 鈥�- It was unbelievable; it was as if some magical miracle had taken place. The sun was shining brightly through the glass panel in the front door at the other end of the hall. I remember thinking: - We don鈥檛 need to worry about the bombs any more. The sense of relaxation was wonderful. At that moment nothing else mattered 鈥� we could walk into the future without fear.

Bella.

16.11.2003.

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