大象传媒

I was born in 1938. My father went into the RAF. And initially was involved with the barrage balloons in the Thames Esturary. These were put up to stop the German planes. I occasionly saw him he came home on leave. I year or so later he went to Foggia in Italy were he repaired the electrics of the planes returning from Germany. He did not return home until after VE day. In England i was first evacuated to relations in Diss in Norfolk. But soon returned to London where we used to sleep in the knightsbridge underground station at night, until they built three shelters we concrete roofs in the small road (only 24 houses). At some time three of the houses on the road were distroyed by incendurary bombs. After the war we used to have of street's fireworks display. On another occasion when the air raid sirens went we went to the shelter and a V1 hit three streets away, destroying twenty houses, but St Peter's Church which was located adjacent to the shelter was unaffected. The wall of the house where we lived had become convex. The wall of the house next door was also damaged, and repaired by the government funded scheme 'War Damage'. When we came out of the shelter the whole of the street was covered in glass and ever widow had gone. Some of the house due to normal glass shortage had their windows replaced with frosted glass (these windows remained up untill 2000).

One of my uncles was out in North Africa in the 8th Army with Mountgommery. And my other two uncles were in the Indian Army.

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