大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer on behalf of Sheila Townley and has been added to the site with her permission.Sheila Townley fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

"I have realized that living in London was a totally different experience from what a lot of other people endured during the war. I lived on Penwith Rd in Earlsfield. I was only 7 years old when the war began but I have a few memories from that time. I can significantly remember the constant air raids we received and having to run to take cover in our Anderson Shelter. There were 3 unexploded flying bombs on our road through out the war, as well as a great number that caused mass damage. I find it strange that my memories of the time were of excitement rather than fear at these events. We would often visit the sites that had been hit in order to collect bits of shrapnel from the German planes. It was something that all the children in my area did. I am sure many of them now still have a bit of shrapnel stored away somewhere. On one occasion there was a bomb that fell directly upon one of the houses on our road. I remember visiting the site during the time when the Civil Defense services were called to clear the debris. We were very excited as we stood behind the safety barrier to try and get a glimpse of what was happening. It took a few days to make sure that the area was safe and then we were left with an amazing area in which to carry out our many adventures. My mother was weary at times about us playing in such areas. However, it became normal for these to be our new playgrounds.
The idea of having such sites left open to the public is ridiculous now. It was a result of the times that we were living that such things were made the norm. I remember visiting the site of that bomb blast a few years ago and recollecting the irony, that it is now a Petrol Station!"

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