大象传媒

鈥淭his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 war site by Phil Cooper from Newlands Primary School, Ramsgate and has been added to the website on behalf of Mr Derek Williams with his permission and he fully understand the site鈥檚 terms and conditions鈥�.

Mr Derek Williams
Born 1935 (71 years old)
During the war I was in Farnborough Kent and I lived near Biggin Hill Aerodrome.

My first recollection of the war was my father returning from Dunkirk. He was very ill with pneumonia. Now buried in cemetery by Newlands school where we are now recording this story.

Story 1 51/2 鈥� 6 year old
Brother plus sister evacuated to Sheffield. Eldest Derek stayed at home. On this particular day when the Luftwaffe bombed Biggin Hill Aerodrome I was bringing food for the rabbits and I was walking behind Farnborough Recreation Ground when the planes flew over the hospital. They started machine gunning people in the park!!! Children and many adults were killed in park. Straight after that in the Pavillion in the park Biggin Hill was used as mortuary because the hospital mortuary was full.

Story 2 Location: Farnborough Junior School
All in class one day. Infants below us on hill and juniors up above on school hill. Doodlebug (V1) came over and landed in woods near school 鈥� several hundred metres!! Fear ! Everybody went under the desks at the school. Blast blew in all windows. Kids covered with glass and bits of wood.

Me and my friends had Complete freedom as kids we went everywhere 鈥� Great fun.

Story 3

I was still at home. Derek not evacuated. The Vicar's family who were School friends of mine, while being evacuated ( also written in the records on the Blitz) were travelling to London by taxi. They were in Lewisham in the taxi when it had a direct hit by a V1 rocket . All Tragically killed! About 6 鈥� 8 year olds (1943) 4 children and 3 adults. Now buried in Farnborough church yard. Such a waste.
Derek stayed right through the war. At the beginning of 1945, when V2 rockets came over, I, was the last child in Farnborough to be evacuated.

I then went to Manchester. The rest of the village to North Wales. Derek wanted to run away from Manchester where he was quite unhappy. Then they moved to Wales 鈥� and I went there too, I enjoyed it very much. Great fun in Wales. Fishing, swimming right on the coast was great. Just where we lived.
Morfaneyin was excellent and so were my substitute parents. Freedom was great in Wales very different from today.

For 5 years virtually no schooling during war.

After war 1945 10 years old 鈥� education almost Nil until then!
Could read/write tables etc
But not as good as might have been! However, we learnt a lot about life during the war. I served 20 years in the Army. Starting at age 21 when I signed up for National service and learnt the specialist trade of painting and decorating. My mother was angry at me for signing up for so long but she eventually came round and accepted it.
I married during my time in the Army and enjoyed the life very much.

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