大象传媒

Joan Brisley, aged 9 in 1939.

A pupil at Hawkinge School.

When the war started we were marched from the school, including my sister Beryl, carrying our gas mask and a rush mat. Shortly after we were taken to Havenfield Lodge in the Alkham Valley. As the school was opposite Hawkinge Aerodrome we were evacuated to Balcombe in Sussex on September 5th 1940.

We used to watch the spitfires and hurricanes take off and see the aircraft return, some of them so damaged they landed and burst into flames. It was very sad to see.

On August 12th 1940 there was a direct hit on Number 3 Hanger and this killed my uncle Jim Brisley.

Often we were being bombed as the siren was going, as it was just a short hop across the channel from France. On Saturday 6th September a stick of bombs went across the airfield during the morning and a dug out in Mill Lane was in the direct line of fire. It was destroyed and all six people sheltering there were killed.

I came home from hospital on the 5th September 1940 and went to Balcombe with my mother in October 1940.My father was in the RAF so she came with us. Balcombe was lovely but sadly the people didn鈥檛 take kindly to us in our digs! We were not allowed indoors, only at meal times. We also had about 2 miles to walk to and from school. The only air raid shelter was in the cellar under the school building. There were many air raids especially at night as Balcombe is on the Brighton/London railway line and the Germans used incendiary bombs to light the way for the bombers to get to London.

During 1941 most children came back to Hawkinge and went to school at Acrise, as our school had been taken over by the RAF and also it was too near the Hawkinge Aerodrome.
I did make a tape for Radio Kent age 10 in the Battle of Britain. It is now in the Imperial War Museum.

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