大象传媒

The three of us lived in New Cross south-east London.We were aware of the first attack on greater London when Croydon Airport was attacked,shortly after we visited the first bomb damage from a single night raider, off the New Kent Rd.Immediatly before the Blitz on London proper started. Sat 7th Sept.Counting German planes in on the evening Raid & the first of the few, who were airborne at that crutial time.The Horizon on the Thameside was
totally enveloped in smoke as far as the eye could see. Surrey Docks and the Timber stacks
were ablaze to burn for 6 wreeks later.
We had watched the firemen tackling the blaze at the docks by climbing onto the cranes overhanging the heart of the inferno.Later that evening we went along New Cross Rd. to a local popular Dance Hall at Deptford Broadway (Lady Florence Institute?) of course the band never arrived. We had to make our way home through a scene,like crowds of people leaving a football ground,Auxilary Fire engines were trying to make their way into the city from outlying districts whilst the crowds seem to viewing the blazing dockside along the river,from the vantage point of the the first rise from the Thames valley. We had just about got half-way to our homes, when the Bombers returned,it was useless trying to get anywhere near the Air-raid shelters which were inundated by the crowds who had earlier been literally sight seeing. Taking cover from a number of screaming bombs,we finished up eventually playing cards in my pals parent's ground floor flat.

Later raids included a land-mine igniting a gas main in the next street, whilst we were busy putting out an incendiary bomb fire in a policeman's 1st floor flat across the road,his uniform and curtains were ablaze when the the sandbags extinguished the bomb at the same time as it knocked it through to the ground floor, the blast from the land-mine resulted in a spare bucket of water being blown over with amusing circumstances,people taking cover laying on the floor,in the darkness thought they were losing blood from leg wounds,this together with destroying the dividing wall to the lower flat, the staircase becoming impassable. This same explosion severely damaged the front of my parents home which meant we had to move elsewhere. During this same raid we still had railings around the front Courtyard on which we hung sandbags,a chap had just been bending down tieing his shoelace stepped back, and an incendiary bomb went straight between the railings where his head had been. What did he do? unhooked a sandbag from off the rail & dropped it directly onto the bomb almost as soon as it burst into flame.
Another amusing incident occured during another raid when a new secret weapon was tried, "Ariel Mines" '' We were returning towards a friends house during a lull in the raid, the pal was leaning out of an upper window,when as we approached, what appeared to be a part of ladies underwear dropped in the middle of the road about twenty yards in front of us, which we thought our pal had thrown from his window; on closer investigation it was a small parachute with a copper wire which led to his house over the roof & up over the adjoining railway embankment and was of course the result of all the ensueing blue flashes as it shorted out on the live electric tracks. One of the rogue "Air Mines" had blown in the front of a nearby shop. What had happened was the wind had changed direction earlier blowing them in from the Thames Estuary.
During this period of the Blitz two of us were working at Frederick Braby & Co.Ltd.Deptford. I myself using on occasions a machine used by Isambard Brunel during his work on the "Great Eastern", and was still being used for manufacturing purposes during the war and later. I took my parents to the factory's Air Raid shelter on many nights during this period,often I was on duty with the LDV./Home Guard. One Unexploded bomb shook me to my knees whilst burying itself 15ft below a set of heavy steel plate rollers. When it was revealed, the naval UXB officer had to request a "Chisel" to remove the detonater successfully.Another Land-Mine landed on the adjoining factory blowing the contents of a huge vat of "WHITENING"!, used in those days for steps & Kerbs etc.Covering a large area including the adjacent Deptford Park with a Snow effect for yeas after.
During this period our other pal who worked for London Transport in their offices at Orsterly Park,NW London joined the RAFVR,and was posted to South Africa flying training near East London & becoming a Sargeant Navigator in a Blenhiem Squadron.I will come back to his story later.
Being a little "Browned off" with Air Raidswe decided to go up to my Aunt's home in Rochdale Lancs. for a Christmas break arriving at Manchester London Road station to find Picadilly & the surrounding area devestated by an overnight raid. Which meant it took the best part of day to walk from Picadilly Via the Central station to get to the Victoria Stn. Returning to London just in time for the City of London raid. to be con.

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