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I was born in August 1932 and I remember at the outbreak of war I was 7 years old and my uncle was one of the few people who had a television. I remember seeing film of Hitler and German troops invading countries, and thinking even as a boy it was appalling. And later when we saw German troops invading Russia I thought Hitler and Germany could not possibly win. I remember the assault on Stalingrad and feeling again that Germany would not win this battle and the war.

The company my father worked for moved from London to Cambridge and many many nights we slept in our heavy-duty steel shelter in the dining room of the house. But moving to Cambridge didn’t mean we left the war behind-quite the opposite.

My father used to do air-raid warden duties and I remember the fields catching fire because of incendiary bombs being dropped. I remember collecting shrapnel in the street. One day there was a bus canted into a huge crater in the main road in Cambridge. When you are young you see these things and they register vividly in your mind.

Another huge memory is Dunkirk. There was a knock on our door at home and two soldiers were temporarily billeted on us. They had been brought back from France – they were filthy and dirty, and the sheer exhaustion of those men remains in my mind.

I remember seeing GI’s who were based nearby having a great time boating on the River Cam and living it up- and it occurred to me that no doubt they thought they might not be here tomorrow.

We seemed to eat rather a lot of rabbit in those days because good quality beef and the rest of it was not easily acquired because we were well and truly in the days of rationing. Meals were simple but nutritious.

One day I was at home looking out the window and I saw for the first time the awe-inspiring sight of a Flying Fortress bomber as it flew overhead. The roar and the size impressed me- it was bloody big!

Another inspiration for me was hearing Winston Churchill on the radio speaking to the nation. He was totally resolute and a great leader. I’ve still got his speeches at home.

I was only a child then but looking back from now I realise how cruel the world can be- and how resolute you simply have to be to come through it.

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