大象传媒

I was born in 1942 so my memories of the war are few . However , I was born in Sutton , Surrey and home was Worcester Park so we were in a vulnerable area and events towards the end of the war are among my first memories .

I particularly remember our Morrison shelter which was erected in the dining room and one occasion is especially vivid in my mind . My mother and I were in the shelter . It was daytime - I am sure of this because I recall asking her what was going to happen about our lunch and she told me it was very important to stay where we were so we were going to have to wait for our lunch that day ! In retrospect it seems clear that this was at the time of the ' doodlebugs' although I do not remember any aircraft noise or the famous sudden silence that preceded the explosion . I could only have been about 2 -little more than a baby so I think it is remarkable that I remember anything at all .
Afterwards , on our way to and from the shops , I remember seeing very badly damaged houses - some had their sides completely missing with furniture etc open to view - and this only a few roads away from ours .

It must have been such a frightening time for our parents - being in a small domestic shelter and listening for the cutting out of that engine , not knowing if you were going to be blown apart any minute now .

I heard on a recent TV programme that these rockets were never intended to be , nor in fact were , a seriously effective strategy and were only ever intended as revenge on us for the bombing they had experienced in Germany .

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