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I was born in 1932- so I was 7 when war broke out. One of my first recollections was of my Dad and Mother saying they’d just heard the Chamberlain announce that we were at war. It didn’t mean anything to me- I was too young.

My first vivid recollection is the November Blitz at Coventry. We were 5 miles away but we could actually see the planes going across from the shelters. It was like a floodlit night: the whole place was alight. My father was a maintenance worker at the major gasworks in Coventry and I remember him coming home and being sick in the yard, having seen the horrendous sights of the morning after the bombing.

The next recollection I have was walking down the street and somebody saying to my father ‘The Hood’s been sunk’ (HMS Hood, that is)- a major blow to Britain. The next was life in the war...air raid shelters, sirens, sleepless nights... And then there was the rationing- queuing up on Saturday mornings for offal and that at the local butchers. As a young child it was exciting, in a way. I spent quite a few nights in the shelters between 1940 and 1942. The best thing we ever heard was the ‘all clear’! I was too young to realise what was really going on.

I do remember the fall of France in 1940. People thought they didn’t really know what was happening- but they did. They knew how near we were to being invaded. You know how music sticks in your head? Well there was a popular song- by Cole Porter, I think it was- ‘The Last Time I Saw Paris’. They played it then- it was very poignant at the time.

We were expecting the invasion any time. There was another blitz in Coventry and Nuneaton between 40-41. At that time the paper we used to read was the News Chronicle, and every day the war was covered in maps. It became almost an adventure to a young boy.

After 1943 things started to improve for the Allies and things looked more hopeful. The U-boats were being tamed and the war had turned, and we were winning the advantage in battle after battle.

Even though we were expecting the invasion of Europe when it came it was a major turning point. Then VE day was all impromptu street parties, dancing and celebrations- it was a fantastic night and day, and all the soldiers and servicemen who had come back just before were there. Then we had another big street party on VJ day in August. That was more organised- they had tables in the streets and all that- but I enjoyed the spontanaeity of VE day better.

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