大象传媒

This contribution to WW2 People鈥檚 War was received by the Action Desk on 大象传媒 Radio Norfolk. The story has been written and submitted to the website by Jane Bradbury (Volunteer Story Gatherer) with the full permission and on behalf of Gordon Sommonds.

When I was ten or eleven the Government evacuated us to Hazlemere in Surrey. I had a label tied on a label and carried a gas mask. Apart from a school holiday I had never been out of London. There were about forty of us. We were taken to a village hall and I was there about three quarters of an hour before being selected by one of the 鈥楳iss Apples鈥�, five spinster sisters. They also had another lad. I went to the local village school and they bought me toys from Harrods in London. I missed my grandmother, who was seventy, and returned to London for a few months. I was then sent to Wales to stay with a Welsh family.
Back in London, when I went round the corner to collect the milk from the dairy the whole road had been blown up and I climbed over all the sand which was underneath. The Civil Defence were at the end with all the barriers up. They told me that they suspected there were timed bombs there and wouldn鈥檛 let me go back by the way I had come.
We had a strengthened air raid shelter in the basement of the house with steel poles put in by the Council. It had wire beds and electric light. We used it a couple of times. One night we tried the South Kensington Tube as a shelter but my grandmother thought it was terrible and said ,鈥漈hat鈥檚 it dear, we鈥檒l stay here鈥�. We used to go under the stairs with two chairs and a methylated spirit stove in case the gas was cut off. There were brick built shelters with concrete roofs all the way down some streets.

There were empty desks sometimes at school. I was a street messenger at eleven to thirteen years old. The ARP gave me a helmet and an armband. I wasn鈥檛 allowed to travel in London with it. I was standing by during an air raid with the ARP section and taught to use a trailer pump by the National Fire Service These used to be attached to the back of a van. One hose went into the reservoir (which was sometimes a hole dug from bombed houses in case of emergency as an extra supply of water for the fire services) and there were two or three pumps that the hose was connected to.
I was sent to my aunt in Putney and was standing in the porch watching the lights. I thought they were signal lights from the railway but they were German flares. The biggest fear in our lives was to be buried alive. The lady next door had a china collection and when her windows went during the bombing I thought it had all gone but it was the glass making the noise. We used to collect shrapnel and exchange it at school. I went with my school to see Henry Wood rehearsing for the concerts in his shirt sleeves. I was allowed 2oz. of sweets but when I went to the sweet shop it had been bombed and I cried my eyes out as I thought there would be no more sweets.

I was sent to Scotland by my grandmother to join a French Commander. The flat was in the village near the naval base. He used to take me on board ship. I remember two huge black Algerians guarding the gang plank, with knives in their belts. I was always given a glass of wine with my food. I watched the Sunderland flying boats going up and down the coast. I used to catch the Qym鈥檚 Bay ferry to Rothsay which went between the buoys (indicating mines). I was the only English lad in the school but I never got bullied. We used to sing 鈥榊ou are my sunshine鈥� on the school bus. I wanted to take the Commander鈥檚 dog for a walk but it wouldn鈥檛 move until I was told to say,鈥漋iens ici鈥�.

My grandmother came to visit me and stayed for a few days. When she went back I packed my satchel and went with her to the station. I told her I would get a platform ticket while she went on ahead. I asked for a ticket to London and was asked if I was fourteen. I said yes (though I wasn鈥檛) and was charged full fare which I didn鈥檛 have. The stationmaster was sent for and I told him my real age (12 or 13) and he let me have a child鈥檚 ticket to London. When the whistle blew my grandmother said goodbye and I broke down and told her I was coming home with her. We shared a sandwich and half a pint of milk on a ten hour journey. The rest of the time I stayed with her and let the bombing go on.

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