大象传媒

CHAPTER I

MY INTRODUCTION TO WAR

鈥淔or crisis sake come inside and forget the crisis鈥�, so read the sign over the amusement arcade on Brighton sea front. It was August 1939, I was nine years old and on holiday with my parents. I did not understand the sign, so I questioned my father who replied that war was imminent and if you went inside the fun fair, you could forget about it for a while. I really didn鈥檛 understand but that was the first I had heard anything about a war. It meant little to me.

Every Sunday morning I used to have to go to see my paternal grandparents with my father, I hated it. My grandmother was very Victorian and showed little interest in me and I didn鈥檛 like her at all. My grandfather was a nice old chap, but very deaf and spent most of Sunday morning 鈥榮prucing up鈥�, bowler hat, clean shirt, cane and waxed moustache, before going to the pub with his son, my uncle. Very occasionally my teenage aunt and her friend took me to a local park and I thoroughly enjoyed these trips. Mostly I was left alone with my grandmother, as my father would go on to his friend then pick me up later to go home. This I had endured for four years.

It was Sunday September 3rd and I was taken as usual to my grandparents. When we got there my grandmother was very agitated and kept repeating 鈥淚 know there is going to be a war, I can tell by all the announcers鈥� voices on the wireless, they all sound gloomy and miserable.鈥� My grandfather spoke very harshly to her, which surprised me because normally he was a very gentle man, like my father. I remember my father did not go to see his friend that day which was very unusual.

At 11 o鈥檆lock we all had to be very quiet and listen to the wireless and then came the famous Neville Chamberlain speech telling us that we were at war with Germany. 鈥淭here I told you so!鈥� shouted my grandmother. My father said 鈥淚 had better get this boy home鈥� and then the air raid warning siren sounded. We walked down the road; everybody was at their front gates, confused and a little frightened, asking 鈥淚s it an air raid?鈥� We arrived home after a 10 15 minute walk to our house where I lived with my parents and maternal grandparents. After a while the 鈥榓ll clear鈥� sounded but for the rest of the day we were apprehensive as we did not know what to expect - a very eerie experience.

That was my introduction to the second world war. Little did I know then what was in store for me in the next six years.

CHAPTER II

WITNESSING HISTORY IN THE MAKING

The local park was just round the corner. It had two old coal carts tethered to the ground by huge wooden stakes and chains. These were to stop parachutist landing in case of an invasion - that dreaded word again. How na茂ve that sounds now, but it was of great comfort then because we didn't know any better.

A couple of friends and myself had gone to the park to play when suddenly we heard the sound of a low flying aircraft. It was a 'Lysander', no doubt off to Biggin Hill. We cheered and waved. The cheers quickly stopped as we heard drones of other aircraft coming in the opposite direction, only much higher. They were German bombers with escort fighters weaving around them. We were rooted to the spot and could not believe our eyes. Quickly composing ourselves we shouted to the Lysander "shoot them down, shoot them down". Of course both the Lysander and the German bombers completely ignored one another, understandably. We were devastated and had lost complete faith in the R.A.F! Soon guns sounded and puffs of black smoke appeared by the German planes, but none were hit. By this time we were more than a little scared and ran home to safety.

I had now seen my first German aircraft, they had gone up the Thames to bomb the docks.

Dunkirk - a name I was not familiar with, but all of a sudden it was in the news a lot, something about our army having to leave there in a hurry in all sorts of boats. I didn't understand the seriousness of it. At the bottom of my road ran the main London to Kent coast railway. My friend from next door and myself attracted by a lot of steam activity went down to a shop opposite the railway and sat in the empty shop front. We watched train after train full of troops, some wounded with blood stained bandages round their heads, arms in bloodied bandages. There were French and Belgians, we could tell them by their funny shaped helmets. It was a terrible sight. To my everlasting shame all we were interested in was asking them for souvenirs which, of course, we didn't get. We even went up to Penge East station to see if we could fare better, still no luck. I remember some soldiers jumping off the trains as they slowed down through the station. We had witnessed the last part of the mass evacuation from Dunkirk. History in the making and here I was, only interested in souvenirs. My only excuse is that I was only nine years old and the seriousness of war had no sunk in yet.

This was soon to change. I was an only child and I hated it. How I envied other children who had brothers and sisters. So I became close to my cousins who luckily lived close by. My mother's two sisters both had five children each and I spent much time with them.

One July afternoon there was much aerial activity and my favourite cousin who was older than me knocked on the door and said "Come outside Jack, there's some smashing dog fights going on". We were enthralled saying "Look we've shot another one down and another". The sky over Biggin Hill was one hive of activity, white vapour trails filled the sky with individual 'dog fights' everywhere. To our childlike minds everyone shot down was German! We were so immersed in all this excitement that we hardly noticed the screech of a German 'Stuka' bomber overhead. We were literally brought to earth by a loud explosion and we were blown through the front door and although badly shaken were unhurt. The bombs had dropped two streets away and killed a few people. Mentally I was shattered and from that moment I became a devout coward and would endeavour to be the first down an air raid shelter in future raids! We had just witnessed the now famous "Battle of Britain".

CHAPTER III

THE PHONEY WAR

Things were changing now that war had been declared. We were issued with gas masks which were different sizes including a Mickey Mouse for young children and a ghastly contraption for babies. At school we had to go through all sorts of rehearsals for various situations if they arose, including quick evacuation to brick air shelters in the playground. I remember having to go through a gas trailer, first with your gas mask on then with it off. A very frightening experience for a young nine year old I can assure you.

Air raid wardens came to our homes for all sorts of emergency drills in case you were bombed and also to advise on blacking out windows so no light could be seen by German bombers. Many ingenious methods were used from thick curtains to thick waterproof paper fixed to a frame that hooked onto hooks on the outside of the windows. It was a nightly chore that took some time and patience. If the slightest chink of light showed it was greeted with the dreaded 鈥淧ut that
b----- light out!!鈥� It was always said with such venom that if you were on the receiving end you felt like a traitor.

Many other changes came about. Rationing, everything was in short supply; gradually shop windows became empty; barrage balloons appeared in the sky when danger threatened. They went high in the sky, other times they were tethered much lower, not much above the roof tops. Mainly they were in local parks or spare spaces of land that were available. Anti aircraft gun emplacements were scattered around locally in the same way. Gas attack warning 鈥榮tands鈥�, a four foot high square pole with a square plate on top appeared everywhere. They were to change colour in a gas attack which luckily never happened. Church bells stopped ringing only to be used if there was an invasion. A dreaded word then, invasion. The Home Guard was formed, now known as 鈥楧ad鈥檚 Army鈥�. I remember, with some amusement, when they were on manoeuvres with the regular Royal West Kents locally two of them were embroiled in a bitter argument and one saying to the other 鈥淣o, old chap, you must agree I shot you first!鈥� How very British.

Anderson shelters for the gardens, Morrison 鈥榯able鈥� shelters for inside the house, underground shelter in the local park. We could have neither as with only a small back garden an Anderson shelter was too close, and, should the house get hit it would fall on top of the shelter. We couldn鈥檛 have a Morrison in the house as they were extremely heavy and the floor joist would not take the weight so we had to have our scullery ceiling reinforced with thick steel plates and girders.

We were issued with an identification card which you always had to have on you because if challenged and you couldn鈥檛 produce one you were automatically assumed to be a spy! Pale blue if under 18 years, buff if over 18. Large water storage tanks about 4 foot high were built in the streets. They had E.W.S (Emergency Water Supply) painted in large letters on the side. Local government buildings windows and doors were 鈥榮and-bagged鈥�, London Transport buses had head lights blacked out as all cars did, bus windows had protective netting over them, leaving just a small diamond shape to see out of. In the dark many a person had gone well past their stop!

Fathers, brothers were being called up for the services. Life was changing fast. Many children had been evacuated. Strangers were viewed as potential spies.

Nothing happened, it was a time known as the 鈥榩honey war鈥�.

We waited but not for too long.

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