大象传媒

On August 15th 1940, the day Hitler said he was going to march through London, Mummy, Daddy and I were billeted with the Solmans at Smallfields, near Horley, Hants.

It was a lovely hot summer day and we had a peaceful morning shopping in Horley. In the afternoon I bathed with 3 of the Windsors at, The Wagon Shed Bathing Pool; while we were there the air raid siren went but we didn鈥檛 bother about it at all.

After tea, when we were just playing in the garden, we thought we heard the sound of aeroplanes coming towards us and when we looked up we saw a hundred aeroplanes which all seemed to be muddled up together; there were about 10 dark coloured ones and all the rest were a sort of silvery blue. All the dark ones looked as if they were trying to separate and get in the way of the light ones. So as the light ones looked as if they were Germans, we told Mrs Soloman about them and she said, 鈥� Come inside, quick鈥� and so we went inside into the hall.

Gradually the aeroplanes made their way up to London; meanwhile Mummy and Daddy had gone to the post, when they came rushing back, Mummy came and sat in the hall with us. Daddy and Mrs Soloman stayed outside. Then the siren sounded and we heard the aeroplanes coming back from London. Next Mr Soloman came back from London and he also stayed outside with the others.
Suddenly Daddy called out, 鈥� Get inside, all of you and lie down flat. 鈥�
The others rushed inside, banged the front door and we all lay down. Then we heard a crash amidst the drone of planes and we wondered what it was. Then we all started talking and Daddy told us that he had seen a German plane which was about to crash and he thought it might have hit the corner of the house and that it had bits falling off it for about half a mile.
Later on we were told that it was a Messerschmitt 110 and also that it was a particularly interesting one. Luckily both the men were dead before they landed with their parachutes only half open and afterwards I managed to get lots of souvenirs. There was another air-raid that night and a lot of noise as Daddy had guards put on to guard the plane.

THE END

I have copied this from an exercise book that I had at the time, when I wrote in pencil about the Buffs鈥� Regiment, which my father belonged to. The original has got a bit worn therefore I could not photocopy it. I have included the few spelling mistakes as well. I can remember the pieces of shrapnel that I treasured for years. At that time I was 12 years old and very often lay in the garden looking up at the 鈥� dog fights鈥� overhead.

I live in Denmark now but I was visiting Rutland and was given the paper about the project by a friend, who lives in Oakham.

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