大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Emma Hart from the AGC Museum, Winchester, on behalf of her grandfather Bill (William) Richardson, and had been added to the site with his permission. Bill Richardson fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was living in Bishopstoke in Eastliegh when the War started, adn I was 11 years old. The first thing I rememebr about the War was that we had to wait for teh Air raid shleters to be built in Eastleigh before we could go back to school. I was at school in Toynbee Road, Eastleigh. I remember the school being bombed in about 1941, and we were evacuated out to Barton Peveril School for a few months.

Lots of bombs were dropped on Eastleigh, because of the Carriage Works, Pirelli and Cunliffe Owens at the airport, who made parts for machinery for the army.

I remember Southampton being bombed too. My brother Bob, and I used to go down to the bottom of the garden and watch, as we were on a hill in Bishopstoke. We used to go out after Air riads and collect all the shrapnel from the anti Aircraft Guns. I can even remember watching some of the Battle of Britain dogfights.

The Anti-Aircaft Guns and crews were stationed in Allington Lane in Fair Oak. One day the crew hit a German plane which emptied its' bombs and then landed in Church Road, on the corner of Spring Lane in Bishopstoke. We were evacuated to a school in Bishopstoke for the evening, because of incendiary bombs.

Furthermore, there was a landmine caught in the trees in Stoke Park Woods, its parachute got caught in the branches. The Army Disposal Squad came up and got rid of it. Lots of people used the parachute silks from these mines to make clothes - lot sof women made wedding dresses.

I can remember seeing a Doodlebug in Bishopstoke one night. There were flames coming out of the back, as it was run by fuel, and when the fuel ran out, the engine stopped and it just landed. One landed at Sandy Lane in Fair Oak (where the Clock Inn is now), and one landed in Stoke Woods. Me and a friend went out and got the Doodlebug exhaust and brought it back home.

When we were at school , if the air raid siren went, we had to go to the Rec (recreation ground) in Eastleigh. There were enormous underground air raid shelters dug into the Rec, which could contain about 100 to 150 people. They are still under the Rec now. We had to go there for gas mask Training. We had to carry our gas masks all the time - or we were supposed to at least! We had to take them to school.

There was a barrage balloon over the Rec in Eastleigh, where Safeways is now. A Lysander plane and a twin engine plane both hit the cable of the barrage balloon, at different times. The Lysander came down in Romsey Road, and the other plane came down in Nutbeem Road. Both the candains on board died in that crash. I dont know about the Lysander plane.

I can remember our Anderson shelter too. We shared it with Mrs Kite next door, and I had to help to dig out the trench to put it in. We hardly ever used it though. You were allocated one shelter to 2 couples.

Our windows were always covered by black material at night. There werent many cars, cos of petrol rationing, only doctors and business people drove, and at night they had to have covers on their headlights, so that only a small slot of light showed through.

I recall when the Airport was bombed. Cunliffes factory took a direct hit - the bomb dropped right at the entrance to their bomb shelter. Lots of people were killed that day. We used to sit and watch the raids at night in Southampton, from Bishopstoke, you could see the searchlights and the bombs for miles.

We even had an evacuee - one lad stayed with us from Portsmouth. Actually, there were 2, one with a club foot and one who had been ill with TB. The lad with the club foot went to Mrs Raymans, but the other lad stayed with us. i forget what his name is now. He was about the same age as me and Bob, my brother. My sister Jean also stayed at Mrs Raymans, as we ony had a small two up two down house, and she lived there to help Mrs Rayman out with her refugees, and two girls.

Everything was rationed too. We had about 2 oz of butter per week, and one loaf of bread per person if we were lucky. You got so many points allocated per number of people in the house, so we had to use our ration coupons wisely. Chocolate and sweets were on ration, and you couldn't get bananas or oranges or any exotic fruits like that. We used to get apples though, and things what could be grown here.

I have a few memories of D-day. Just before D-day, I remember seeing British soldiers up on the rec at Bishopstoke. And then when they gave the order to move out, I was there when all the bombers were flying over ,and all of the gliders with people in were attached to them. The bombers were flying to Northern France from Stoney Cross in the New Forest.

My dad was never in the army, as he was in what they called a 'reserved occupation' . He was a carriage and wagon checker - they called him a 'wheel tapper', for the trains that carried the troops, he had to check for safety. Mostly, he worked at Brockenhurst.

In Bishopstoke, there was also the HQ of the Wrens, up at Ashfordleigh House (not there anymore). All of the Wrens were stationed there during the war.

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