大象传媒

鈥淭his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Jane Hart from Hastings Library on behalf of Sheila Hart, copied directly from her hand written story, and has been added to the site with her permission. Sheila Hart fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions鈥�

I was a Land Army girl

It was 1942, I was 18. After spending the weekend with my Great Uncle William (Tompsett) and Grandmother, Harriet (Tompsett) in Polegate, I was on my way back to the farm in Rye. (Grandad had died. William was Grandad's brother - Harriet's brother in law - and they shared a house). Walking down the lane, called the Black Path (now built on), with the railway line on one side and a high fence and brambles on the other, (there was no where to hide.) This German plane came over and he started shooting. I was lucky, the bullets hit the ground at the side of me, so I put my case on top of my head, and carried on walking. He went down to the station, then came round again, he started shooting again this time the bullets went the other side of me, by this time I wasn鈥檛 feeling very happy, and I was the only one in the lane. He came round a third time, and he let a bomb go, heading for the station, it missed, went into the field behind and killed some cows. I arrived at the station and gave them all a shock. I saw the pilot each time he came round, and he was laughing his head off.

While working in the fields, we had to run to get in the ditch when the hit and run planes came over. When the raid was over we all came out looking a mess, we had many laughs on who looked the worse, and the smell, Pooh.

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