大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War Site by Three Counties Action, on behalf of Heather Catterfield, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

Born in October 1940, I was pre-school when World War II ended but I have isolated memories about it.

Waving my brother goodbye
My brother Derrick is 17 years older than me so was called up to join the forces. He went into the RAF and did initial training at Halton, Buckinghamshire. In about 1944 he was posted to Blackpool prior to overseas duty in Burma. My mother found out what time Derrick would be travelling down from Blackpool to Euston, and thus through Hemel Hempstead where we lived, en route embarkation. Mother, a neighbour an I went and stood by the railway line and watched his train steam past us. We waved our handkerchiefs to the troops on board. I don鈥檛 know whether my brother saw us or even if it was the train he was actually on.

What we did when a siren sounded
When at home and a siren was heard, my mother, father and I would drop everything and make for the 鈥榗oal room鈥�. This was a windowless room measuring about 5ft x 5ft at one corner of our bungalow. We remained there, coal to one side and brooms on the other, until the 鈥榓ll clear鈥� went. My parent鈥檚 idea was that if our home was bombed, there would not be much rubble to fall on us.

My father and I were caught out away from home one day when the siren went. He and I were on a walk and were on a public path just passing the gas works when we heard the siren. I think my father must have panicked for I certainly sensed danger. There was nothing we could do, nowhere to hide 鈥� but we survived!

The following are handed down stories from my parents.

The need for ironmongery
A directive was sent out that all necessary metal was to be collected from the public so that it could be used for armaments. Iron railings and gates were to be collected. My parents had a rather grand pair of hand made iron gates and were very loathed to part with them, and so one night my father and our neighbour went for a walk to 鈥榬emove some metal fencing鈥� from the side of a field. My father then took our iron gates away, hid them and stood the black metal fencing against the front wall. When the collection men came, they happily took away the stolen fencing. After the war we were the first to have iron gates again, but that鈥檚 another story!

Seeing a doodlebug overhead
A mother and her son were evacuated to us from Hastings. One day my father was outside the backdoor and said to my mother and Mrs. V., the evacuee, 鈥淟ook at that strange aircraft up there.鈥� Mrs V. looked out, 鈥淐ome inside Bob鈥�, she shouted, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a doodlebug鈥�. This was a new experience for father but having lived on the south coast, Mrs V. had had experience of this weapon previously.

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