大象传媒

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I was 27 years old when war was declared in 1939 & my husband was 32. We married in 1935 and I came to live in Battersea from Surrey.

I was never called for war work because I looked after my three-year-old niece while her mother carried on her husband鈥檚 work during the time he was in the RAF. My husband was not called either, as his work for the Battersea Borough Council was vital to our area being an electrician looking after public buildings, shelters and street lighting.

We lived adjacent to Wandsworth Common where railway lines ran through to Clapham Junction Station that the Germans tried to bomb but failed to hit. We suffered nightly bombing with broken windows and lots of casualties in the shelters on the common. We slept on bunks in the cellar built by my husband, but later on we had a Morrison Shelter (like a table) in our living room and we three, our dog and two abandoned cats slept more comfortably.

Some weekends my husband would go potato digging to help farmers. This was arranged by the government and not for our benefit.

Food was horrible, especially dried eggs, but our butcher gave us bones and then we could make soup with the vegetables my father gave us from his garden. Perhaps too, a couple of eggs as he had three chickens. We would also queue for some fruit and manage to get a couple of apples or a banana, but not very often.

We got quite close to our neighbours, calling each other by first names, which was unheard of before those ghastly days 鈥� usually we were Mr. Mrs.and Miss. It made us feel closer to each other. I remember the 鈥淒oodlebugs鈥� which I think were bombs with an engine that would cut out suddenly and then you would know it was about to explode quite near. This was very terrifying if you were out and had nowhere to hide.

In 1944 I found I was pregnant and I would call at 鈥淗astings鈥�, a furniture shop near the station and ask if a pram was available. After two months I was lucky enough to buy one. In May 1945 I was evacuated to Woking where my son was born in June. My mother made cot and pram sheets from her store of lovely linen and nappies from towels. (No Pampers then).

My husband became very ill a few months later and after lots of tests and Gold Injections at St. Thomas鈥� Hospital, the doctors diagnosed his condition as trauma, after witnessing horrible sights in the shelters when he went to check for dangerous wiring. He finally recovered and returned to work for the Battersea Borough Council and retired at 66 years old. He was foreman electrician and estimator.

Now here I am, living in Surrey where I was born and nearer my family, so I鈥檝e come a full circle.

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