大象传媒

Bombed Out in Heston

At the age of 12 陆 , my sister and I were in Church, when the Parson told us that war had been declared. We went outside an Air Raid Siren sounded, but I think they were only testing them.

My mother and father sent me with a friend down to St. Ives in Cornwall. We were only there a few months when they brought us home again. We had quite a bit of fun down there. The lady who we were staying with has two brothers who had a boat, so when the moon was shining we used to go out to catch fish, there were big shoals of them, we always came home with plenty to eat.

I suppose the raids started about one year after we returned home. When we went to school, the teacher used to tell us not to take our coats and scarves off as we would probably be going down the shelters. Needless to say the siren would go off and we would all march with our gas masks and tuck boxes. We never had any lessons while we were down there, which some times was all day. This went on for weeks. The only time my friend and I played truant, we went to Lampton Park, and what happened, yes you guessed it, the siren went and we ended up down the shelter all day, so we didn't try that again.

1942 I was 16 years old, it was 8 o'clock in the morning, my father was upstairs in bed, he had only been out of hospital a few days after undergoing a serious stomach operation, and was waiting to go to a convalescent home in Herne Bay. My mother and I were in the kitchen, she had just put my breakfast on the table and I was hurrying because I did not want to be late for work, when we heard a Buzz Bomb coming over. My mother said come on down the shelter (which was an Anderson Shelter made of corrugated iron in the garden). We rushed down there, when the engine cut out on the bomb. We waited with our hearts in our mouths. There was a big explosion, I said to Mum that I must go and see if Dad was OK I tried to get out of the shelter but dust and rubble was still coming down and I could not see, so I had to wait a little while. When I saw the damage that has been done, some of the houses in our street were flat, others had their fronts blown out, I called to my father and he answered me. Luck was with us, the stairs were still standing, I managed to get Dad down amid all the rubble. We put him in the shelter and I tried to salvage what I could from the house, as once the A.R.P. men came we would not be aloud in as it was to dangerous of more collapsing. The whole of our street had to be pulled down (20 houses), somebody phoned my sister who was at work to tell her what had happened and she came home. We were eventually all taken to Heston Congregational Church where we were given blankets and clothes if needed, also something to eat. Sleeping arrangements were three tiered bunks in one big room. You can guess, it was rather funny, most of the children were up the top all waving to each other. The night after we got our bomb, the street next to ours got hit, so we were well and truly over crowded in the church. There was quite a few killed and injured.

I remember one time, I was at work and could hear a plane, it sounded just like a Buzz bomb, I crawled under my desk. Nothing happened and everyone else was still working. I did feel a fool. Needless to say, before the bomb dropped on our house I wasn't frightened, but I certainly was after that.

We were allocated a house in Ash Grove, Heston. The government issued us with furniture, bedding, cutlery and crockery. I remember in the house next door to us, a young lad was learning to play the violin, and if you have ever had that experience you will know it sounds like cats screeching, it was terrible. He improved with time and it was much better. In the evening when all the raids were going on in London, we used to stand in the garden and see the sky lit up like day with all the fires and bombs. Where we lived we had factories and airfields all around us, so we had our fair share of bombs and incendiaries. You did get used to it though and the saying was if you could hear the whistle of the bomb, it hadn't got your name on it so it was no good worrying.

When peace was declared it was wonderful. We were all out singing and dancing in the streets. My mother had her piano taken out, so it was knees up all around. There were tables and chairs brought out, food was plentiful, I don't know where it all came from but we didn't worry about that. I was courting then and we decided to get married on Boxing Day 1946. Things were still on ration and cloths on coupons. At that time people were lending each other there wedding dresses and a friend lent me hers, it was a long dress with a small train in Ivory Silk. My bridesmaid dresses were mauve, also borrowed. So I was very lucky. We lived with my mother and in February 1947 our house had been rebuilt, so we moved back in there.

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