大象传媒

This story has been added to the People鈥檚 War website by Jenny Burnett on behalf of Dorothy 鈥淩ose鈥� Bray. Dorothy has given her permission and understands the sites terms and conditions.

The war started on the 3rd September 鈥� it was my mother鈥檚 birthday. I remember everyone crying in the street. I stayed with my Gran in Beck Street. She was bombed out, and the horses in nearby stables were killed. I later lived with her in a condemned house near the Dockyard. I was afraid the house would fall into the crater nearby!

Dad was in the Navy. He came home and was in the boom defence. We would cross to Gosport by ferryboat to see Mum. She was carrying a tray once and fell, slipping on the dust and shrapnel.

My brother was born in 1942. I was sent upstairs to get his dummy and at the same time a bomb dropped at the end of the road. The bed fell on me and the next thing I knew Mum was shouting 鈥渨here鈥檚 that bloody dummy?鈥� 鈥� she came up and got me out.

Dad worked in the Dockyard taking incendiary bombs off ships. Mum would sleep with a pot of black pepper under the pillow to stop the parachutists getting at her!

There were ENSA concerts in Gosport, near the Hardway. I remember the piano on the lawn. George Formby came with his wife Beryl and played the ukulele.

Two soldiers were billeted with us for a time. Mrs Groves who lived up the road reported one of her soldiers for putting his boots on the bed! Later when letters would come for them, I would take them up to Fort Brockenhurst. I was cycling along Military Road and there were ATS girls there on the corner. The siren went and a plane came down to machine gun the ATS girls. Some were killed. My bike was struck by a bullet and I fell off. I went to the A.R.P鈥欌�檚 house as I was badly frightened 鈥� but I got a banana and an orange out of it!

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.