大象传媒

Clare was born in Essex but lived in Battersea in July 1944 in a
house with her grandmother. Her aunt and uncle lived next door
and the house was hit by a doodle-bug (VI) - the aunt and uncle
were killed outright. They then moved to Lancing.
Clare was evacuated out of London early in the war to Sudbury in
Suffolk to the home of farming family Mr. & Mrs. Hill.
They had very strong accents and they were not able to understand
much of what they said. Mother went to live with her sister.
The girls went to school in plaits because we had big hair and the
teacher said it had to be cut or plaited because of nits. Mr. & Mrs.
Hill were elderly (in their 60s). Many Canadians were billeted in
Lancing and some Lancing girls married Canadian soldiers

Peter was born in Brighton and went to a private school in Clarendon
Villas, Hove in 1941.He said he was at school one day and there
were no sirens or warnings but they heard a plane. The Headmaster
said 'Under the desks' and the windows all blew in as the bomb went off.
After school they went to find out what had happened. The bomb had hit
Shirley Press in Shirley Street.
When Peter was about 7, he was travelling on a bus along Western
Road the road was straffed and the bus was shot up. Peter was on
the lower level and a man threw himself across Peter, so he was
unhurt but some people were injured.

In the school holidays Peter went to his Aunt's in Fareham. They were
out in the fields one day with his cousin and saw fighter aircraft.
They could see the crosses were German and could see the pilot in the
cockpit and black crosses on the wings and fuselage. They were about
80 feet away. Cattle were in the field and the gunner started machine
gunning the cattle. Peter and Cousin Ann started running and eventually
reached home OK.

There were butterfly bombs with little propellors on the top which
revolved like a sycamore seed. The idea was they got hung up in trees
and telegraph poles. Anti-personnel bombs which the children picked up
were often booby trapped and injured the children when they picked them up.
They also dropped fountain pens which were booby trapped and poisonous
coloured sweets.

There was plenty of fresh bread and vegetables but other stuff was
rationed - a split tin loaf was 4 1/2d. The Americans threw a party and
there was a draw to see who could go. Clare won a chance to go and there
was plenty of food there.

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