大象传媒

Beatrice Davies lived in Mottingham, South London, duringthe war, and travelled to work at The Ring, a canning factory in Blackfriars Road. She travelled by train, or van if the train had been bombed. On some occasions, she found herself being sent home if the factory had been bombed.

When three months pregnant, at the start of February 1944, Beatrice was staying at her mothers house in Mottingham, when it received a direct hit from a flying bomb. Her mother was killed outright. To make matters worse, Beatrice was evacuated to Leeds the next day. It was particularly traumatic to have her mother's funeral in the morning, and then be moved to a strange city in the afternoon.

Further bad timing happened some seven months later, the day before her daughter was born. A telegram arrived to say that her husband, Ronald, had been wounded in action in North West Europe. Fortunatey, he was only wounded in the leg, and made full recovery.

Ronald was one of four brothers, all of whom served during the war. James was a corporal in the Army Ordnance Corps, Herbert was a Private in the Pioneer Corps, and Leslie a private in the Royal West Kent Regiment. Ronald himeslf was a Driver with the Royal Artillery. As well as Ronald, Leslie was also wounded in action, while serving in Burma. All four brothers survived the war.

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