大象传媒

Some Shelters I Have Known - From an Infant鈥檚 Viewpoint

PILLOW SHELTERS

At night when all the banging got too noisy, Mummy held a pillow over my head.
I didn鈥檛 like that pillow. Nor did my bigger brother. He shouted out if Daddy held a pillow over him! Then they all had a shouting with cross and worried faces. Even when the banging stopped, sometimes Mummy had a cry.

TABLE SHELTERS

We had to sit under the kitchen table after the siren went. It was very squashed. The table was not big enough for us all. Mummy put a cloth over it to make a tent. My brother went to sit under the front room table. He wanted his own tent. His teacher at school was found under a table at her house. She was bombed. She didn鈥檛 go back to school. He had to have a new teacher.

WARDENS SHELTER

Mummy took me to the Warden鈥檚 shelter. A sort of big tin shed. It had a table with a bright light over with lots of little boxes on it. It was dark in there. There were no windows. I didn鈥檛 like it. He took a rubbery Mickey Mouse face from a box. They said it was a gas mask to keep me safe. I didn鈥檛 like it when they stuck it on my face!
He put it back in the box, with a strap on, for me to carry he said. I threw it down when I got home. I didn鈥檛 want to have it. So I hid it behind the Hoover, in the cupboard under the stairs.
There was a big long gun in there. I got it out to look at. Then everyone was shouting!
I got a smack for that. Daddy put a big bolt on that cupboard. His Home Guard stuff was in there. I was not allowed to even touch the door. So the Mousy Mask was lost!

GARDEN SHELTER

One day, everyone was digging. Making a big hole in their back gardens. Our hole was near the chickens, but away from Daddy鈥檚 shed. He put some concrete in it. Then made a roof of tin. Us kids could then all help him with grass and bits of mud. We covered it all over 鈥� to hide it from old Hitler. It was him that made the bangs.

Daddy made 2 benches for inside the shelter. He was very good with wood. Gran had a chair up at the end, with a cushion, when she came. We all sat in there quite tight. In the daytime, not at night, after the siren sounded. We played 鈥業 Spy鈥�, but still got bored waiting for the bangs to stop.
So Gran got up to go and use the bathroom. Daddy told her to wait for the sky to clear, but she went and zig-zagged down the garden path, shaking her fist at Hitler! 鈥淗e won鈥檛 get me鈥� she shouted out. Mummy laughed so much, she had to go as well. So she zig-zagged down to the house, like Gran, waving up at Hitler.
Daddy shouted 鈥淗urry up鈥� and moaned about all women. They came back with a tray of teas, just as the 鈥楢ll Clear鈥� went.

We couldn鈥檛 use the shelter after it got full of rain. So Daddy took out the benches.
Said it was all a waste of time, and moaned about the council.

INDOOR SHELTER

Then we got a big box made of iron to go into the front room. It took up all the space in there, like a table with 2 ends. They put a mattress in it, as we laid there most at night. We brought our pillows and eiderdowns down with us, when the siren went.
I learnt to say my 2 Times Table there. My Mum said 鈥淰ery good鈥�. My brother got fed up with me, and crept out to go upstairs. He opened the landing window, in the dark, to watch the Doodle-bugs. 鈥楥ooee鈥� Cooper knocked on the door, wearing her warden鈥檚 hat, saying she could see a bit of light upstairs coming from our landing window. My brother had moved the blackout to sit up on the sill. When they found him there, they were very cross. He got a smack for that.

DEEP SHELTER

One day as I was coming home from school, as usual by myself. I was walking carefully on the paving path, to not walk on any cracks. So I was looking down, not up.
I heard the siren blaring and all the bangs and things, but I was near the path end and had to finish my 鈥榥o cracks鈥� walk. So I didn鈥檛 see or hear the man who came running up to me. He picked me up by the back of my raincoat collar and swung me in the air! As my coat was belted up, my arms stuck out the side. I hoped the buttons wouldn鈥檛 break. My Mum had changed them to the 鈥榞irls鈥� side鈥�, when my brother鈥檚 coat came to me. The man ran with me like that, to 2 open doors in the ground. It was by the phone box near the shops. Then he swung me down. Another man grabbed me and dragged me down some steps. The doors banged shut and I was in the dark. I stood and I waited, as still as I could. Then the men put a torch on, to show me where to sit.

The wooden bench was cold. I pulled my coat straight. The 3 buttons were alright.
I saw the men up on the step peeping out the door. They had tin hats on like all the wardens did. In the bit of torch light, I saw a fat lady sitting near. She had some little children with her and a baby in her lap. 鈥淐ome here dear.鈥� she said. I shook my head.
She was sweating and crying and wet. The children started crying too. She held them very close. 鈥淚 think she鈥檚 frightened鈥� she said about me! One man came down the steps. He sat down next to me and asked me where was Mum. She鈥檚 at home I told him crossly 鈥淲aiting for Me鈥�!
鈥淵ou can go when the All Clear sounds鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow sit with the nice lady.鈥�
I shook my head and said 鈥淚 can鈥檛鈥�. He wanted to know why. I whispered to him that they smelt. He laughed and went back up the steps, to tell the other man. The All Clear went and we all came out .They shut the big wood doors. I never knew there was a big hole under the phone box before.
Mum came running up the hill, saying she had been going mad. I don鈥檛 know what else they said because I ran home by myself. I got told off later. I don鈥檛 know why, but I didn鈥檛 get a smack.

SCHOOL SHELTERS

We had a lot of shelter tunnels dug on the school field. They were concrete and with benches like our one at home. They were much, much longer and open at both ends.
The grass was put back on top to hide them from the war.
Each year had their own one, with the 3 classes in together of A, B and C. More than a 100 children and 3 teachers in each one. We girls had boxes of old wool and thick knitting needles to make knotty things. I think the boys sandpapered wood. Some drew pictures if there was enough paper and crayons. Nobody cried that I could see, but the teachers hugged us into groups and said be brave. Then they sat at the shelter ends and smoked their cigarettes.
Our shelter was near the school, just after the nursery one. The older years had to run further down to theirs. The really big children went to the furthest one, near the fence. The dinner ladies went in any one.
The Headmaster went to see all the shelters, one at a time. He said that we were all very good and he was proud of us. Then he whispered to the teachers and patted them on the back. If the bangs were very loud we put our hands over our ears. Sometimes we sang Ten Green Bottles or One Man Went to Mow. Only once did we have to curl up like hedgehogs, underneath the bench. Then we said a prayer out loud when the All Clear went.
We used to have a shelter practice to see how quick we could run. The bigger children used to race right down to theirs. The teachers had to time us and blew a whistle when we were in. Miss had to carry little Jane who had a poorly heart.
Now we could do it really fast. Call the Register and all. Then do our knotty knitting.
Or make a woolly ball.
One morning it had snowed, all over the shelter tops. Children had been sliding over them on the way to school. Me and my friend climbed up one and sat down on the icy top. We slid down the side on our bottoms, holding our raincoats under tight. It was so exciting. We slid down every one. Then there was someone shouting at us. We hadn鈥檛 heard the whistle. Teachers and children were laughing from all the school windows.
We got told off for that.

TUBE STATION SHELTERS

When we had to see my Gran one day and went by the tube. We saw a lot of people sitting down at the stations. They had their pillows and eiderdowns, like we did in our shelter. Dad said they were Londoners and had nowhere safe to go. Mum said that they had sing songs and played cards. I think she would have liked to be there because she liked those sort of things. She used to be a Londoner as well. But then she said we must hurry home before the siren went. She didn鈥檛 want us to be stuck there at night. So we didn鈥檛 have a sing song or play with any cards. I don鈥檛 think she is a Londoner any more.

WHERE DID THEY GO AFTER THE WAR ?

I don鈥檛 know where all the garden shelters went. Ours was just filled in. The roof was used as a fence I think.
The indoors one could be unbolted down. Were they all collected up?
We used one outside for a stage when we had our street party. We tap-danced on the top. We wanted to keep it out there but it went 鈥� I don鈥檛 know where?
The school shelters were there for years. They made fantastic slides. All gone now .I suppose.
The deep, dark hole under the phone box is probably still there. The wooden doors must be gone. Does this mean that I am the only one, - who knows what is there?

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