- Contributed by听
- London Borough of Newham Public
- People in story:听
- Mrs Violet Barker
- Location of story:听
- Forest Gate
- Article ID:听
- A2619128
- Contributed on:听
- 10 May 2004
As told by Violet Barker
I was born in this house. I'll be 89 in November. I went to Saffron Walden with my sister and we looked across to London and it'd be a mass of flames. I wasn't evacuated: we'd sit and wait for the different sounds of the planes. There were the guns firing on Wanstead Flats, and there was a P.O.W camp in Aldersbrook Road, at the far end from Romford Road.
One night a landmine dropped in Halley Road. Then we got a doodlebug: somebody cried out, "The buzzing's stopped!"
My husband rushed out with a frying pan, and lost it somewhere: we never found it. The flak went on and on.
Then I had David - he'd be getting on for 60 now. We went to the Anderson shelter. There were a lot of blackbeetles down there, we tried to get something to get rid of them.
We used to queue up for everything: two ounces of corned beef was a treat. We had our own chickens: we used to make sure one was fattened up for Christmas dinner, and some Sundays.
One day we saw a German airman floating down. Before we could get to him someone else had shot him.
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