大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Jan Broderick of the County Heritage Team on behalf of Muriel Gardner and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

We did a lot of fire-watching whilst we were in London. One night there were about six of us on duty at the Employment Exchange in Marylebone Road. And it was very dull really, when there was nothing happening. When there was nothing happening sometimes we would go out in twos round the corner to the Scotch House in Baker Street. We would have a game of shove-hapenny for half-an-hour then go back and two others would go out. We would take it in turns. One night a friend and I had gone around to the Scotch House, when one of the bar maids put her head around the door. She said 鈥淵ou fire-watchers, the alarm鈥檚 gone off and I鈥檝e called you twice.鈥� So we rushed out to Marylebone Road. It really was fantastic 鈥� like being in Dante鈥檚 Inferno. The black sky and the stars, with the search-lights criss-crossing the sky from Hyde Park. And the noise! The guns blazing away from the park, and the yellow balls of light racing across the sky in arcs, from the ack-ack. Although it was terrifying and we were rushing to get back, it was beautiful in its way. It still sticks in my memory.

We got back safely. Then about three-quarters of an hour later a warden came in and said 鈥淭he Scotch House has had a direct hit. It鈥檚 gone!鈥�. It really brought it home to you. The people you had been drinking with just before were all gone. And it could so easily have been you.

In September 1944 we were on fire-watch duty in Bayswater. When the siren went there was usually much noise and tumult as the guns in Hyde Park started up and police cars were rushing about. But on this occasion the siren went but there was complete silence. It was most uncanny. This went on for a couple of hours. So we asked a warden what was happening as there had been no 鈥楢ll Clear鈥�, but he didn鈥檛 know. About two o鈥檆lock in the morning we were told that a gas-mains had blown up south of the Thames. And still there was no 鈥楢ll Clear鈥�, nor at nine o鈥檆lock when we had to report back. It was the first of the V2s 鈥� the ones you didn鈥檛 hear. So in order to prevent any panic in the population, the government put out the rumour about the gas mains.

I remember the first doodle bug (V1) I saw come over. A friend and I were crossing Regent鈥檚 Park when we saw it come over. So we raced along keeping pace with it as it flew over the park. A little foolish perhaps as had it cut out we鈥檇 have been killed.

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