大象传媒

Having been turned down for the forces on medical grounds I returned to work and became a voluntary part-time air raid warden patrolling at nights, based in a basement in Finchley Road, London. In a strange sort of way it seems from this distance in time to be almost unreal. We would walk in pairs around the West Hampstead area. Of course there was no traffic. It was an eerie experience walking around in the dark and we watched the searchlights endeavouring to pick up incoming bombers particularly on bright, cold winter nights with
the moon and stars.
One night we had been rather busy. We were on our final patrol when in the darkness I saw something lying in the road. In all the silence I picked it up and to my horror it turned out to be a complete human thumb!

To end on a slightly lighter note, my parents were at that time evacuated because my father was general manager of one of the largest men's clothing manufacturers, a company which was then making uniforms for the Services and the business had in part been evacuated to High Wycombe. By then I was the proud owner of a second-hand 1936 Morris Minor which I used for going to and from High Wycombe at weekends when I could save enough petrol coupons to make the journey there and back. One Friday I had taken my usual route along the main road but 3 or 4 miles outside High Wycombe I had run out of petrol and had no more coupons. Rather more in desperation than hope I walked around until I found a tobacconist where I bought two or three bottles of lighter fuel. By pouring some of this directly into the carburettor and the rest into the fuel tank I was really amazed when I was able to start the engine and could complete my journey.

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