大象传媒

During the Blitz there was quite a chain of voluntary, concerned people who just banded together and provided the care and comfort appropriate to various problems.
My father was a Sanitary Inspector (now called a Public Health Officer) and since for a time after returning to London from evacuation in Somerset there were no schools open in London I used to accompany him on his duties. Those duties included deciding which houses should be pulled down and which should be repaired (well have canvas weighted down with sandbags hung over the rooves) after the bombing during the previous night.
When schools opened again in London we had "flying bombs - doodle bugs" rather then nightly air-raids to contend with. These came at all hours, one would dodge them on the way to school. At school our caretaker would watch for them from the roof and blow a whistle if they looked like coming in our direction. We would then run from our class rooms to the surface shelters in the playground. The caretaker would cycle off to check where the buzzbomb had landed and whether any of the school children's houses had been hit. After one such event while playing in the playground I was aware the caretaker had returned and was talking to the Head master. I was sure they were talking about me. One didn't go and ask grown-ups what they were talking about in those days, one just waited until school had finished and went home. Sure enough I was not surprised to discover my Scout master was waiting for me at home. He explained my Father had been hurt by a doodle bug he showed me my Father's glasses and said "I washed the blood off but see they were not broken!"
My Mother returned from the hospital with my Uncle later that evening and we all adjourned to the air raid shelter. Later a "Don R" (despatch rider) came to summon my Mother to the Hospital. Uncle, my Mother and our dog "Blitz" set off to walk to the Hospital half an hour or so later "Blitz" returned on his own.
When I woke up in the morning my Uncle was there to explain my Father had died at 11 40 PM the previous night. He explained that all his left side had been crushed and he would never have been able to play football with me again had he lived. He had noted that it was exactly at 11.40PM that "Blitz" had stopped and would not go with them any further he had just turned round and come back home.
I then got up and went off to school to apologise for being late because my Father had been killed. Every one in my class was quiet but then it was not a particularly novel occaision for them.
I would like to say thank you for the many events when I witnessed the London Family being just that - a Family!

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