大象传媒

I was born in 1942 in Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Hammersmith during an air raid (according to my late Mother).

Daddy had been severely injured some years previously in a motor cycle accident in Scotland so was an an Air Raid Warden in London.

Born during the War, it was all normal life to me and I didn't think anything of it.

My parents had been living in a flat in Cumberland Park (posh Victorian houses divided into flats even in those days) and had been bombed out and found a flat in Larden Road.

At that time Larden Road had brick shelters built all along the road, but my parents never used those as I remember so they must have been very nasty and possibly smelly. At the top of the road (Uxbridge Road) was a large area which I think had previously been used as allotments where later {after te War), very ugly flats were built where I believe the late, lamented star Adam Faith was born.

I remember the blackout curtains and a Morrison bed which I think belonged to the folks next door. I suppose we had an Anderson shelter but never used it and my late Father built a garden shed out of it after the War.

My late Mother was all for the "under the stairs" approach which I remember quite well with bedding and so on.

I was never "evacuated" except one time which I don't remember very well (I must have been about two), going up to stay with my maternal grandmother in Darlington. She couldn't understand why I wanted to go "under the stairs" so that didn't work out very well. There was a certain amount of ill feeling, and I am very sorry I lost track of my Grandmother who died around 1967.

As for rationing, I only remember some sort of disgusting orange juice which tasted of cod liver oil.

Bombed out properties were very exciting, covered with flowers. A friend from school (St. Vincent's Convent) "Winifred", took me to her house on Pierrepoint Road -- a large garden with fruit and flowers and at the end of that another large garden with a very exciting crypt -- the bombed out house.

We in Larden Road were very lucky as today those very ugly Edwardian properties are mostly intact and very highly priced.

I have lived in California for forty years now.

Does anyone else have any memories of Acton at War -- particularly East Acton near Acton Park? and Larden Road?

Jill H. Harvey (Mrs.)

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