大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by Lois Cooper and has been added to the website on behalf of Miss Hawkins with her permission and she fully understands the site's terms and conditions".

When the war started on a Sunday morning a plane went over, we thought this was the start of the bombing, but it was a year later.

The first Saturday of the Blitz, August 31st, I was in the Regal Cinema, Old Kent Road and during the programme the warning went. We had to stay there as the bombing was quite heavy. We didn鈥檛 realise how heavy and serious the damage was. The 鈥淎ll Clear鈥� went and we made our way home, everyone was in a hurry.

As we got nearer to home there was plenty of activity, wardens ushering people away from various streets. I met up with my brother but we weren鈥檛 allowed in our house because of an unexploded bomb. It was in the garden of one of the shops (a parade of shops at the top of the road) whose garden was about 20 yards from ours.

The shop on the corner on the opposite side of the road was bombed, which also demolished the booking office of South Bermondsey railway station, that shop used to sell mourning clothes, all black and charcoal grey.

We managed to get into the house and I managed to change into my new shoes, brown high-heeled skin, wasn鈥檛 going to have them blown up!

We managed to find out where my mother and two sisters (2 and 7 year olds) and my mother鈥檚 sister was. They were in a local school but then moved to another as the first one was not safe. It was by the Grand Surrey Canal, it is still there (not the canal, now a road) it was my infant school. They had been sent to Keatons Road School, now Peak Freans Biscuit factory which was about 15 minutes away.

As we couldn鈥檛 go there directly because of road closures, bombs and rubble, it was a long walk, but we didn鈥檛 get too far, the sirens went so we found ourselves in a surface shelter with other people. It was a night of squatting or standing inbetween the shouts of 鈥渄uck鈥� which was great for my brown skin shoes, on a concrete floor, they didn鈥檛 look very new by the morning. The 鈥渁ll clear鈥� went and we got on our way. When we got near the school all we could see was fire engines, lorries, plenty of people around, but the school was a burning, smouldering shell.

Nobody could tell us much, we went to the Library Cottage Hospital, as my father鈥檚 sister lived fairly near. We needed a drink and wash, knowing my aunt I bet she fed us too. My cousins got on their bikes and did the rounds, met up with someone who told them where they could be. It was Pages Walk School near London Bridge, must have been about 5 or 6 miles with all the detours. It was lovely when we found them, yes there were tears of relief. In the meantime my father who had been fire watching and had a busy night was out looking for us too. We all eventually met up and got home, a hectic night.

We found out that my mother鈥檚 youngest brother, who lived locally, was bombed out, he had only got married the previous Saturday. When he was a young lad he lost four fingers so he wasn鈥檛 called up, he was 22, so he and his wife went to stay with his brother and wife. They lived downstairs, my father鈥檚 niece and husband lived upstairs, on the night of Sept 11th, morning of the 12th - my brothers 18th birthday, there was a huge explosion, and as soon as my father came home from fire watching my mother asked him to go round to their house as she said she heard her young brother call her, they were very close. When he came back he told us they were all killed, the youngest 21 the oldest 28. My cousin was 22 she had been married 6 months, my other uncle married 18 months. We heard later they had been blown over two rooftops and one road, such was the force of the bomb. They were in the Anderson shelter (I would never go in one, didn鈥檛 like them) as were the other 22 people in theirs.

Later that morning the Army arrived, the artillery unit (Scots) from Southwark Park.
There was still a lot of heavy bombing so my mother and two sisters were evacuated to Stevenage, with a very nice family. Their son about 21 was killed, air crew, so nice was John Bates. My sister and I are still in touch with their daughter at Christmas, such a nice family.

My father was on shift work and then fire watching, my brother in the ARP depot under the railway arches. The railway was the bombers target, the Heavy Rescue was under another arch.

Our family鈥檚 friend who lived nearby her son was in the Heavy Rescue, he got killed, a wall fell on him, that family lost three sons, one son in law, can still see their faces. A lovely family, the youngest about 22, the eldest married with one daughter 34.

My brother was called up for the Navy when he was 19, served on a Motor Launch, did patrols from the Shetland Isles and Dundee. He was made cook because he kept the galley the cleanest. He took part in D Day.

I tried to get in the Wrens but there were no vacancies so before I could get called up for a munitions factory I went as a machinist making underpants for the Army, operation gowns for the Navy. It was near Aldersgate St. not always a good journey, I can still hear 鈥淎ll get out Aldgate East鈥�. We use to laugh, what again! I used to get a bus or walk to Surrey Docks Station, and change at Whitechapel.

The winters were the worste, blackout and fog sometimes, a slight turn and you would be off course by about 50 yards. When there was smog, how dirty your feet, hair and underclothes got!

I was often in the house on my own, didn鈥檛 always bother with a fire, cuddled a hot water bottle, that was when I was home late from work. Could be 8.00pm with the hold ups and as it was up early in the morning it wasn鈥檛 worth it. I used to go to bed on very bad nights I didn鈥檛 undress, just in case. I was lucky or too tired, I used to sleep through a lot of it. Heard the really close ones, or the guns on the railway. In the mornings I washed and changed clothes. Once there was not so much danger, my mother and sister came home, it was lovely to have family life again and a fire and table laid to come home to.

When the Doodle Bugs started, you could hear the throb of the engines cut out and it would seem overhead, not a nice feeling.

The V2鈥檚 were worse, you had no warning with those, one Saturday morning my cousin aged 12, had been swimming New Cross Baths with two of his friends and they went into Woolworth鈥檚 for a hot drink. It had a direct hit, many people died, including his two friends. It was his sister of 22 years old that was killed on the 12th Sept. 1940 so he was very lucky. His other sister was also injured by a bomb that blasted the front door in and smashed the windows.

On a lighter note I can remember dancing at Covent Garden Theatre with service men and G.Is. round the bandstand at Southwark Park, and the Heavy Rescue Depot under the arches, concrete floors again, brogue shoes were best.

One night from the West End I missed the last bus at the Elephant and Castle so had to walk home. I was a one for high heeled shoes when possible, these were black suede continental style, oh so smart. The only problem after dancing all evening I was beginning to get blisters, so the Land Army girl I got friendly with at the bus stop who lived near me and as we were walking home 3 or 4 miles my feet were getting sore. The lovely girl walked in her thick socks and let me use her shoes. I took 5 陆 these I think were 8鈥檚. Then when it was time to let her have them back. I still had another ten minutes walk, I made it but I still remember it well, rather painful.

Another memory 鈥� a birthday treat to the Stoll Theatre, Kingsway, to see the Lisbon Story, Pedro the Fisherman was the popular song. The sirens went but the all clear went after 20 minutes. Then out we came at 6.30 pm, it was pitch black and my friends mother got hold of a Yank鈥檚 arm and started to walk with him, she thought he was one of us! We them went to the Royal Automobile Club where my friends father was head Chef, and we all came home together, no more Yanks arms.

The back garden had chickens and rabbits to help with the rations, we were all enjoying roast rabbit when my youngest sister was told it was Enoch, name after one of the actors on the radio. She left the table in tears, worse still for her she didn鈥檛 know until many years later, I had made her mittens out of the skin, my father used to get them cured or tanned, whatever it was.

I went to a couple of weddings, sausage rolls and cheese sandwiches, much spam to make a spread, sponge cake made with one egg and a spoonful of vinegar. My egg always went into the Yorkshire pudding, eggs didn鈥檛 agree with me. My sister had my cheese, I had her meat, I think she was put off meat after the Enoch episode.

On V.E. day I went to Piccadilly with friends. A really good time every one in such a good mood. The next night a street party, another good night of singing and dancing. A repeat for VJ day.

One last sad memory was the return of the young men who were Japanese prisoners of war, they did suffer, one for years use to run everywhere, never saw him walk. The other looked so ill and old, it took ages before they began to look well, on the surface anyway.

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