大象传媒

The War was on, the War was off and we were somewhat lulled into a vague sort of security that somehow it would not happen. But then, as we all know now, Poland was invaded by the Germans and we had to stand by our promises to help the Poles and so war was declared.

A few minutes after the then Prime Minister Chamberlain鈥檚 announcement, for some unexplained reason, the Sirens went off and we all hastily retreated to the Air Raid Shelter which for many weeks had been dug in the area known as 鈥淭he Park鈥� at Guy鈥檚 Hospital, one of the large London University teaching hospitals for Doctors, Dentists, Nurses and technical staff
where I was training as a Nurse.

The weeks before that final day of peace, shelters were being dug in many parts of London and sandbags were being filled to protect properties, and strips of sticky paper were stuck across window panes to prevent people being cut by flying glass and glass splinters. Londoners were getting ready and no doubt so were other cities all over the country.

Barrage Balloons looking like big airships and filled with gas could be seen all over the London Skyline. They could be let up right into the sky so the enemy aircraft could not fly so low over the City and thus give a little more protection from targeted bombing. During the more quiet periods the balloons were pulled down.

To begin with during the sunny days of that September life was fairly unchanged. But then after a while we learnt of the speedy invasion by the German armies through Holland and Belgium thus avoiding the protection and defences of the Maginot Line of France. This was built for the protection of France, but was of little use to them, as the German advance came via the Low Countries and there were no fortifications between them and France. And once the Germans occupied the whole of France our lives changed completely. England was bombed both day and night and our fighters went up to intercept German bombers and you could see them on fire and falling down into the sea or the river or on land. These air battles were called 鈥淒ogfights鈥� and once the Sirens went off you could see people running to the shelters provided for them all over the city. Some people had their own 鈥淎nderson鈥� shelters in their gardens where they slept every night. These shelters were just a hole in the ground, brickwork round the sides, concrete as a roof and floor, steps leading down to a small wooden door. Bunk beds inside, chemical toilet, small cupboard for food storage, some form of cooking and heating facility, lighting etc. This could be supplied by a cable from the house. People could go out and go to their houses once the 鈥淎ll Clear鈥� had sounded, but it was better to stay there for the whole night in case an other air raid was on the way and you would all have to go back again.

Other people took their bedding and valuable belongings every night to the London Underground Stations and they slept there on the rather draughty platforms. Once the trains had stopped running, around 11 o鈥檆lock at night, and they did not start again until around 7 in the morning, life was fairly quiet or as quiet as could be with all the children and people.

There were also other places e.g. Chislehurst Caves, one enormous underground cave where around 1000 people made their night homes. Every family had a little corner to themselves with bunk beds, and there were common cooking and washing and toilet facilities. They had concerts and dances and many famous actors and entertainers visited the Caves, free of charge to entertain the people. The camaraderie was great. Doctors held their surgeries there and children could have school lessons if they were unable to go to their proper schools. And mothers and fathers went to work and returned in the late afternoon away from the city. The caves are still open to-day and are quite a visitor attraction and quite spooky.

In the morning the people from the Tube Stations had to take all their belongings back to their houses. But when some people returned to their houses they were no longer there. They had been bombed during the night and they had nowhere to go back to. Halls and other large empty areas were provided for these homeless people to give them temporary accommodation and they were looked after by the authorities and manned by voluntary services such as WVS
( Womens Voluntary Service), Salvation Army and other municipal workers. Schools could often be used for this purpose as many of the children had been sent away to live in the country away from London and its dangers. They were sent to families who would look after them until such time when it was safe for them to return home. You could see all these poor children with labels of name and address round their necks and also their gas mask carrying a little case with their most precious belongings at stations and bus stops. And the children and the parents were all weeping because they never knew when and where they would meet again. These were very sad scenes seen every day until most the schools had evacuated. Most the children were well treated by their foster parents although there were a few who were not quite so lucky. But it was all supervised by the teachers who went with the children and by the authorities.

Guy鈥檚 Hospital and all other major hospitals also evacuated their patients and staff to safer hospitals in the country, away from London. Our hospitals were in Kent and they all, had to start building prefabricated huts to be used as wards and as housing for staff, operating theatres, x-ray units etc. We nurses were put up in Bell Tents in a place called Pembury not far from Tunbridge Wells. This was fine during the remaining summer months but when the cold weather started they put in stoves so give us some heat. But they smoked us out and so we had to be moved again. This time it was to an old Workhouse which had only just been evacuated by the 鈥渄own and outs鈥�. Not very pleasant. But eventually we were able to move to the newly built huts.

When in June 1940 the evacuation of Dunquerke started, we were one of the front line hospitals who took in the wounded soldiers and the doctors and nurses were working round the clock to help as many people as possible and relieve their suffering. We all were kept so busy and working overtime was part of our daily life in London. People continued to live as normally as possible. Many of course were called up to the Army, Air Force, Navy and those in reserved occupations e.g. doctors, dentists, nurses, coal miners, farmers and key workers in industry continued in their current jobs. Others were directed to Munitions Factories, arms factories, Land Army and other jobs of national importance.

And we lived in this sort of atmosphere, never knowing what each day would bring, continuing our daily work, saying hallo or good bye to friends new and old as we were being sent from place to place, from Pembury to Orpington and Farnborough for my 2nd and 3rd year of training.

In Farnborough we were very near to the fighter aerodrome of Biggin Hill (Hurricanes and Spitfires were flown from there), and we were invited to dances and thus had some sort of social life with the pilots and their families who were all able to live with them there. And again it was sad to see when one or other of the pilots did not return to base and was either killed or taken prisoner. And their families then moved back home. But in spite of all this, the determination in everybody鈥檚 mind was always that in the end we would win this war. Nobody ever doubted this. There was never any thought of defeat. And that was that kept Britain going.

For my 4th and last year 43/44 I moved permanently back to London. I had been there a few times for weekends off or on holidays with friends and whilst living in a big block of flats had a lucky escape when the block of flats next door to my room were destroyed by a stray bomb. Our block and myself were left quite unharmed, just shocked.

During my last year in London we were on night call quite frequently and had to look after civilian casualties who, when brought in, were always looking so grey as they were covered in dust and had first of all to be washed to keep the dirt away from any injuries they might have suffered. Guy鈥檚 hospital was situated in what was known as the Borough of London, filled with jovial, hardworking, chiefly market folk. They were always so cheerful and grateful to us for all we did in spite of the fact that many of them had lost everything, house, home, maybe some family member. They were happy to be alive.

Towards May 44 I finished my training and as my then boy friend, later my husband was going overseas, there was nothing to keep me in London. So I took my nursing skills to Bradford in Yorkshire and worked as a District Nurses. As so many hospitals were short of nurses and doctors who had joined the Forces, District Nurses were very much needed to visit patients in their homes and help doctors perform minor operations on the kitchen table. And so I continued the rest of the war in an area of England which was so much more peaceful and escaped the severe bombing of other big cities and the V1 and V2 bombing of London which was so very much more frightening. When the V1 stopped making a noise and you heard a big noise in the distance you would know that you had been spared. TheV2 was silent and so you could only hear the noise of its hitting some area. You just had to hope for the best.

We followed with great interest D Day, the invasion of Europe by the Allied Forces and the advance through France and the rest of Europe. And then came May 8th 1945 VE Day and with it the German surrender and peace in Europe. I was then able to go abroad to Belgium and work inside an American Committee, who dealt with the aftermath of war, chiefly the repatriation of refugees returning from concentration camps, who were lucky enough to be alive, who came to us to help them find their families in the rest of the world, who as Jews had emigrated from Germany to somewhere. And very often, though by no means often enough, we were able to reunite people through the company鈥檚 various connections with Consulates and similar organisations in America, South America, Australia, New Zealand or wherever. And every success made our hard work worthwhile.

Eventually both my husband, who had returned from the Middle East, and myself were able to settle down in England, but an England still on ration books which had ruled our lives for so long. Meat, milk, butter, sugar, jam, marmalade, next to no chocolate or sweets, and many other foods were in short supply. Fruits such as bananas, pineapples etc were unobtainable.. Chocolate only came off ration around 1954/5. Coupons were handed out for shoes and clothes in general and for furniture (called Utility Furniture) and for carpets and other household goods. Mothers to be, nursing mothers and children received extra milk, eggs and orange juice. We also 鈥淒ug for Victory鈥� throughout the war which meant many plots of land were turned over in any patch you could find to grow your own fruit and vegetables and potatoes.

The war was still being fought in the Far East which was still a great worry. But we both hoped that we had returned to an England which now had turned into a much more peaceful place and in which we could build up our future lives.

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