大象传媒

I was 18 when the War started and I worked at a weaving firm which sadly caught fire through an incendiary bomb. I worked for a few weeks as a postwoman which I enjoyed as it was at the same office where my father worked but he would not let me deliver to the local school where the army was billetted.

Then I was called up and I went into munitions at Woolwich Arsenal. It was quite a journey. I had to leave home at about 6.30 a.m. to get to the gates of the factory by 7.45. a.m. and then catch a bus and a train to the actual shed itself. This was a bit like an aircraft hangar. We worked until 7.00 p.m. so it was very late by the time I arrived home as the trams were very infrequent.

I was on inspection of cartridges and had to make sure they weren't faulty. I was very fortunate as I did not work in the Danger Buildings where they worked with raw cordite which made the workers' skins turn a nasty shade of orange and there were always ' incidents' happening in these sheds.

One day when the Red Alert sounded for raids I dived under my workbench - remembering first to put on my tin hat - but ignoring the fact that I was sheltering underneath live explosives. The Major who was in charge of our Shop said it was the funniest thing he had ever seen!

I worked at Woolwich for about 4 years during which time we lost our own home to the Blitz but thankfully no-one was seriously injured. My mother and my younger brothers and sisters were all evacuated so Dad and I kept each other company and we were very close. Like most people we had some narrow escapes but we all came through and we are still a very close family.

Winifred Butler
Silver Circle Reading Group
Wandsworth Libraries

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