大象传媒

I was only young during the war and I was living in Isleworth.

After the all clear we used to meet with other young boys and walk around the street picking up shrapnel (which we shouldn't have done because the ARP warden was about; he used to shout, but we used to do it anyway.) Incendiary bombs (not gone off) were few and far between. They were about twelve inches long with a fin. We used to pick them up, but someone would say something, the police would come and that was it!
Land mines would be hanging in trees; not knowing what they were, we didn't touch them. Some still had their parachutes. They used to send vehicles round and the bomb disposal unit used to deal with it.

Looking back on it, collecting bombs, I think "Stupid boy", but as a boy, finding a live bomb was a trophy. We used to go out so early after a raid that the shrapnel was still warm.

This story was submitted to the People's War Site by Helena Noifeld of 大象传媒 Radio Kent and has been added to the website on behalf of A.Kedge with his permission and he fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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