大象传媒

We walked 1 mile to school and went home to lunch therefore walking 4 miles every day.

When the war began school routine had to adjust. We had a brick built air raid shelter which is still there. During a raid we sat round the walls on benches and the most frequent activity to keep us occupied was "Chinese Whispers".

As West Malling airfield was on the edge of the village we couldn`t rush to the shelter every time an aircraft approached. My brother Bob was 6 or 7 years old and was a car fanatic so was able to identify any engine, even before anyone else had heard it. So he spent much of his school life standing in the playground just listening. He therefore was able to rush into the school to warn us if an enemy `plane was coming. That, of course, only gave us time to get under our desks.

When I was 6 years old my school daily diary always began with a weather comment such as "Today is a sunny day." The weather varied but the picture didn`t. It always included German and British planes performing various battle or bombing actions amid orchards, cornfields or cottages.

Evacuees arrived at school and had a tremendous effect. They noticed all the things which we took for granted, especially in wildlife. We had to work hard to catch up and our pride was dented. Where are you all now?

Toys were scarce but we could buy comics. My favourite was the Champion and my first read was always Rockfist Rogan and his amazing ability to outwit the Germans.

Five of us somehow obtained an old (very) bren gun. It was very rusty and couldn`t fire but we spent very many happy hours dressed up as soldiers and wearing arm badges in our war games.

Towards the end of the war, just before D- Day, some soldiers of the Royal Artillery set up camp on our farm. They treated us to their lovely dried egg omelettes and let us clean their gun which I think was a Bofors. We missed them when they moved, I assume to the coast prior to the invasion. I wonder if they are still about? Some from Sussex and some from Yorkshire.

Shortly after the war ended my father was sent five German prisoners of war to work on the farm. They lived in a P.O.W. camp at Mereworth Castle and eventually returned to their homes in 1947.

And, do you know, they were just like us!! In fact the daughter of one of them visits us almost every year.

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