大象传媒

The Start of the War

The forthcoming sixtieth anniversary of the ending of the Second World War and the sixtieth anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2004 have reminded everyone of what was happening in the first half of the 1940's. Many of those who played an active part in the war are sadly no longer with us, and even the numbers of those who were children in those times grow fewer every year. This has inspired me to write my own memories of what the war meant to me and hopefully they will be of interest to those who have no memories of the years 1939 to 1945.
I was two weeks short of being six and a half years old when war was declared on the 3rd.September 1939, so what follows are the memories of a child. These memories are absolutely real but I do acknowledge that the passage of sixty years can play tricks. If my memory is less than perfect or if I have made mistakes, I apologise, it's all my fault and I accept full responsibility!

The Start Of The War

I did not hear the announcement made by Mr.Chamberlain, the Prime Minister,
that we were at war with Germany, but I did hear people talking about it.
At that age I had no idea as to what it was all about although I do remember
Poland being mentioned. I didn't know what being at war would entail and I suppose I was both a little bit excited and scared at the same time.
My only knowledge of war came from a set of six books about the 1914-1918
war which my father owned, they contained many photographs and one picture in particular which stuck in my mind was an artist's impression of a cavalry charge by British Lancers. The horses with flailing hooves, staring eyes, bared teeth and flying manes as they galloped down a street with the troopers grimly determined with lances at the ready as they charged through the smoke of battle, this made a deep impression on me. In fact I half expected this to happen at any time!
At this time my family was living in a small bungalow in Portchester on the slopes of Portsdown Hill overlooking the city and naval port of Portsmouth.
My father worked at the Airspeed Aircraft factory on the outskirts of Portsmouth which meant that he was not called up to the Forces as he was deemed to be involved in essential war work. The factory at that time was producing twin engined Oxford training aircraft for the R.A.F.
I was attending the Junior School in the village of Portchester and to the best of my memory not much seemed to happen to change our lives in the first few months after the war started. I think it was the period known as the phoney war.
Much of what I can remember is rather fragmented and seems somewhat trivial
but nevertheless it is all part of the picture of the war as seen through a child's eyes.

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