大象传媒

In the Summer of 1940 I was 14 years old and had just left school. I started work at Vickers Armstrong aircraft factory in Brooklands Road, Weybridge and I was employed in the Wing shop office as a clerk. It was the afternoon of September 4th, my friend and I went for our usual walk in lunchtime, this was from about 12.30 for an hour.
I came back into the factory at about 1.20 and made my way to the office, but on my way there, one of the men working on the Wing Gallery stopped me to ask about his insurance card. While we were talking we heard this noise, and the man said he thought it was odd that the machine shop was starting early.
Suddenly there was this terrific explosion followed by another, and he pushed me towards the spiral staircase which led to the finished parts stores. On the way down I lost my shoe, I went back for it, as it turned out luckily! There were sandbags at the bottom of this staircase and as I descended, these blew up with the explosion and I was covered.
I ran out into the yard and there was broken glass everywhere (lucky I had gone back for my shoe). I ran up towards the garage and stayed there for a while, all this time the machine guns on the roof of Vickers were were firing up at the attacking planes.
On the far side of the road by the factory there were deep shelters cut into the hillside. I must have run across to them, but to this day I cannot remember a thing about that. All I remember is coming to, my overalls covered in blood and sand, and it wasn't my blood.

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