´óÏó´«Ã½

When war broke out I was 10 years old having been born in August 1929 and living at 807 Sidcup Road, New Eltham, London, with my parents and my sister Sylvia.

On Sunday 3rd September 1939 we heard Mr Chamberlain make an 11am broadcast saying that we were at war with Germany. My parents took my sister and me to my Uncle Dicks wife, who was living at Rudjwick near Horsham. She was living in a cottage in the grounds of a large house. I remember the weather was very hot. We were back home within a week. At the time Uncle Dick was living in Mottingham as he was Chief Air Raid Warden for Sidcup and Chislehurst.

All schools had shut, but several weeks later a retired Schoolmaster opened a room at Montbelle Road School for lessons 3 half days a week and set homework in arithmetic and English. This was only for former pupils of the school. This went on for several months. Then Pope Street School in Foots Cray, New Eltham re-opened (now renamed Wyborn). At first we had two full days a week. As far as I can remember in May 1940 we attended for five days a week, but because of air raids we spent a lot of time in the air raid shelter, a re-inforced cloakroom where lessons continued.

From the start of the war my Grandfather recorded the times of the air raid sirens from his home in Forest Hill until December 1941. Details of which I still have. I then started recording all the soundings of the air raid sirens up until the end of the War. All the explosions heard of the V1 and V2’s I also recorded.

During the war we had various weeks — war weapons week, spitfire week and national savings. On each occasion I set up a stall outside my house collecting for the various weeks. During these weeks I collected a fair amount of money.

My first two £1s were sent to the Air Ministry towards the purchase of a Spitfire. I had personal acknowledgements from Lord Beaverbrook and Col. Moore-Brabazon. They were Ministers of air production at the time. I then went on to supporting the Eltham Spitfire fund and at the end of the war I was given a collecting box as a souvenir.

I collected war souvenirs. As well as those I found, neighbours and friends gave me others. One item was an incendiary bomb, which had fallen on the Peek Freans biscuit factory in Bermondsey, which failed to explode. A neighbour who had a bookmakers business alongside the factory, a Mr Medlock, gave this to me. I still have it today and it is in good condition, it has been made safe.

Then in 1945 I represented my school — Woolwich Polytechnic Junior Technical School at a service for senior pupils in Secondary (Grammar and Technical) Schools in St Paul’s Cathedral. This was on Friday 13th July 1945 at 5.45pm. Three students represented each school. I still have the Order of Service. The Rev. Canon F.L.L Hughes, CBE, MC, MA, Chaplain-General to the Forces gave the address. The organist was R.G Martindale, MA of St Dunstain’s College. The Choir drawn from St Olaves Grammar School.

After the war I collected door to door for the Red Cross.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.