大象传媒

I was born in South West London in 1938, not long after my parents married, and am an only child. I remember some incidents about the latter war years.

My father was drafted into the Army Dental Corps. He was away a lot, in the Surrey countryside, later in Belgium and in Germany at the end of the war. I remember sitting on his lap as a very small child (he was dressed in his Khaki army uniform) and drops of water falling on me. I said "You're crying", but he vehemently denied it! I didn't have many toys, so my father brought me a cloth doll with a plastic face from Belgium and a porcelain doll from Germany. At the end of the war, he was billeted on an older German Professor who exchanged this doll for some English cigarettes; it was beautifully dressed with leather shoes and real hair and had a "K" and an "S" engraved on its neck, with the Star of David in between the two letters. It is in fact a Kammer and Reindhardt doll, a very collectable item, as is the little cloth doll from Belgium. I still have them both.

My mother meanwhile remained at home, except for when we were evacuated to Birmingham during the worst of the bombing in London. My mother always prepared meals on a tray and I can see her now as the air raid siren went once again sighing, picking up the tray and going down into one of the air raid shelters. We had one under the stairs and another in the garden. However, at night we often slept in a hige bed in one of the rooms with an iron roof,usually with 1 or 2 other ladies, for company and safety. One day my mother lost her diamon engagement ring in the garden air raid shelter. Several years after the war ended the boy nxt door was digging in his garden and unearthed something clinting - yes, you have guessed, it was my mother's engagement ring! I have it and wear it now.

On VE Europe day the neighbours held a street party with tables all the way down the street, and I had to do a tap dance on a platform.

My lasting impression is that I never ever felt afraid, thanks to my mother's handling of the situation and only now realize in what danger my father must often have been.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.