大象传媒

One day in 1945 I discovered the meaning of "peace"

I was born, my mother told me, during an air raid in April 1941 at a nursing home in Bexleyheath,Kent.Immediately upon delivery I was put under my mother's bed for safety from the bombs. My brother was born in December 1942.

My first childhood recollections were being woken up by a siren and then my parents carrying my brother and me from our beds to the front living room which had something called an "air raid shelter" standing next to the wall. My parents, my brother and myself then stayed in this "air raid shelter" until apparently another siren went off when we all left this metal structure and continued with our lives. This procedure must have gone on for some while becasue one day it was decided that the children would be put to sleep in this "air raid shelter". My brother and I both accepted this as quite normal. Mum and Dad, if necessary, would join us and then we would all wait hearing the dull thud of bombs dropping. We eventually understood, as we got older, about the "all clear" siren and the one for going into shelters. To us it was all perfectly normal.

At some point in time it was decided that mother and children would go to Yorkshire. To Yorkshire we went trouble was Mum wanted to get back to London so back to London we went. This was alright except London was being bombed by V1 rockets. I remember that we were all in the air raid shelter at home when a V1 rocket was heard. Either Mum or Dad then mentioned that the rocket had "cut out" the tension inside that shelter was bad. The "all clear" was sounded and we continued our lives.

My brother and I gradually became aware of a thing called "the blackout". It was instilled into us that when the blackout curtains were drawn we weren't to look out of the windows. This was clearly understood by us. Except my father who, on one memorable night, decided to look out the window, with the lights off. We children were absolutely horrified that he would do such a thing but anyway he did and saw the planes. I can still remember the low dull throb of those planes.

Every now and then the dreaded gas masks would appear from the store cupboard so that we could practise putting them on. I really hated mine although it was in the shape of a mickey mouse head. My parents also had what I remember as a cot-like apparatus for putting my baby brother in because he was obviously too young for the dreaded gas mask. Thankfully these practise sessions never lasted very long and back these things would go into the store cupboard.

We didn't have many toys though, of course, we wouldn't have been aware of this. I do recall having some wooden bricks with the alphabet printed on them and a blue teddy bear which I really loved. My brother was given some toy engines, possibly from my uncle. I do recall they had LNER and GWR printed on their sides.

Then there was the walk to the shops with Mum, brother and myself. There were always queues but then my brother and I thought this was normal. Mum would eventually find hereself in the shop and hand over the ration books after her purchases.

Looking back I don't know how my mother coped with getting meals but we didn't seem to lack for anything. I still remember the Ministry of Food's orange juice bottle. It had a blue and white label. I really liked the orange juice.

Every now and then my parents would decide to go and see their parents, my grandparents, on the north side of the Thames. We would all get into the car, my father somehow kept this car running throughout the war, either he or my mother would then drive through the East End. I can recall the nissen huts put up as temporary accommodation for people bombed out of their homes. I always liked to see the gardens some of them had managed to grow, the happy memory of them still lingers.

Then one day in 1945 my world, as I had known it, was altered. My brother and I were told that something called "peace" had arrived and that there would be no more bombs or aeroplane noises overhead. I remember going out into the garden, there was absolute quiteness and stillness and to this day I have never forgotten the meaning of the word "peace".

Life went on and I now live with my husband in Australia. My brother lives in the United States with his family. My mother and father eventually joined us in Australia.

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