大象传媒

Apparently my mother Daisy Neal, who was a cripple and had great difficulty getting into the shelter as the first step in and down was about 12", refused to go down the shelter whenever there was an air raid, which during the blitz was almost nightly. But on the 21.6.44 after a fiece argument between her and my dad Arthur the whole family trooped off to the shelter. Thank god we did as we were bombed out that very night by a direct hit by a V1 (doodlebug), our house was obliterated.

Two ladies, one having one child the other two, were in the Anderson Shelter next door. This was because both husbands were in the forces away at war fighting. The two mums were best friends, so during air raids would sleep together as families, alternating each time in either of their two shelters. The older girl aged about ten with red hair lived. Peter aged eight and Janet Hardwicke aged five were both killed by the blast. Little Janet had beautiful blond hair and was very pretty, she died on her birthday 21.6.44.

We all survived, but those two dear little children died.

My dad Arthur burnt his hands badly tring to get us out of the shelter as all the gas mains caught fire - he was in sujch a panic he was tring to get out of the wrong end of the shelter. The ARP Air Raid Patrol) Warden broke down the door and got us all out.

We, me and my sister Sylvia, were taken to friends in Tavistock Walk, the road we used to live in before we moved to Russan Walk, near Rose Hill. My parents were taken to Poulters Park, a centre for people who had been bombed out. Back at the charred remains of the house people were frantically digging for me Rita and Sylvia my sister as they thought we were buried in the rubble. Mum and Dad went back to the bomb site and told them we we safe as we had been re-united in Poulters Park. SO, WE WEREN'T MEANT TO DIE WERE WE! We lost everything, we had nothing left at all. Mum and dad had friends that used to go hopping in Kent and even though the season hadn't started the Foreman allowed us to live in the huts as we had nowhere else to go.

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