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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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A Guernsey Girl bombed out in Islington

by Guernseymuseum

Contributed byÌý
Guernseymuseum
People in story:Ìý
Ethel Wolley (née Blatchford)
Location of story:Ìý
Islington
Background to story:Ìý
Civilian
Article ID:Ìý
A6950829
Contributed on:Ìý
14 November 2005

A Guernsey Girl bombed out in Islington

Extract from edited transcript of Mrs Ethel Wolley (née Blatchford) interviewed by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Guernsey 5/2/05.
Transcribed by John David

I stayed in London till the Battle of Britain, when we were bombed out, mined out…
I………. And you left London? Was it heavily bombed?
Yes, very heavily bombed, and we could see the City of London ablaze, and those awful incendiaries and doodlebugs, but in the end I had to leave because the back of the house was blasted out, a bomb hit the area, demolished three or four houses and the back of our house, I opened my eyes one morning and looked up at the heavens! We couldn’t live in it any longer. So I went to Barnet to live with some Guernsey friends.
I………. What happened to the family that you were living with?
She stayed on in a bed-sit, but she said I was too young to live in London, too young to risk being killed. One Sunday lunch time there were some German planes over, and I saw the third bomb hit the bridge near our house, I saw it come down and up went the smoke and all the mess, and the front door was blown in and when I went outside there was a London taxi there, and the driver was sitting bolt upright, I thought he was dead, but he was in a state of bomb-blast, shock.

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