大象传媒

I was 12 years old when the war broke out. I remember listening to the radio when Churchill announced that we were at war.

On September the 1st 1939 I had my first evacuation, I was sent to Berkhamstead. I was at North Paddington School. I didn't get on with the daughter of the people there. So I came home and school reformed. We went to Bampton in Devon. I was billeted. with a nice family and a schoolmate.There was no evidence of war there other than planes droning overhead to bomb Bristol.I kept in touch with this billet family till they passed away.

I came back home in 1941 just in time for the Blitz. The whole family had to sleep in an Anderson shelter in the garden. On a clear day you could see the dog fights above with bombers that were caught in the search lights. We used to cheer them on , but our Aunt cried out no, no. She didn't like us doing that. My cousin her eldest son, was in Canada training to be a fighter pilot in the RAF, He was later killed in Italy. His spit fire was shot down. He was only 22.

I worked from 16 in a factory repairing millitary lorries and modifying armoured cars to be used in the Japanese campaign. One day during the lunch break I was outside when anti aircraft guns on Wormwood Scrubs opened up. Puffs of smoke from exploding shells dotted the sjy and an aircraft flew through it. Possibly the shells altered its flight path and the engine shot it down and it glided down to explode in a recreation ground between our factory and the Park Royal Hospital. How it missed these important factories was pure luck. I think it was one of the first V1 Doodlebugs. The V2 was worse though you couldn't hear it coming. There was one in Queens Park we tnink it was targetting Kensal Green gas works. It killed alot of people. Kensal Green cemetary had to be shut down.

We used to go to the British Restaurant in Ickenham.

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