大象传媒

I was six years old when WW2 began and lived in a semi- detached bungalow between Dartford and Crayford, Kent. There were several factories near the River Thames including Vickers Armstrong which made munitions. My father had joined the army in WW1 but now as a dentist was in reserved occupation as a dentist. In 1940 air raids began and my father decided to have a shelter. It was horrible, I hated going in it.

I think it was in the autumn of 1941 in the early hours of the morning when there was a really loud explosion outside. My worse nightmare came true as the earth started filling up the entrance. My father dug it away and telling us to stay inside went outside to have a look. Upon returning he said the neighbour's home had been badly hit and the front of ours looked a mess. In the morning we found that a bomb, but not a large one, had dropped in the front garden of the adjoining bungalow, demolishing half of it. Ours had the front damaged and interior walls cracked and ceilings down. A flame was coming from a fractured gas pipe.

My father took me to school and arranged for me to have dinners there. Otherwise we tried to carry on as normal until my father found a house to rent about half a mile away. There was no rehousing unless completely homeless, and we had to live without water, gas or electricity for about three weeks until we moved. Neighbours helped with meals and we had our weekly baths at my grandmother's small bungalow in Crayford. The council had a scheme to repair bomb damaged properties provided they put in their own tenants.

We did not return to the bungalow.

This story was submitted to the People's War website by Helena Noifeld and has been added to the website on behalf of Valerie Martin (nee Holman) with her permission. She fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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