大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Janet Kowalska and has been added to the website on behalf of Harold Apps with his permission and he fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was fourteen when war broke out. We lived in Tenterden in a flat over my father's ironmongers and builders merchant premises.

Sunday 3 September was a sunny, pleasant day. We knew that Mr Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, was going to address the nation on the radio at 11.00am and that he would probably be saying that we had declared war on Germany. But as it was a Sunday, my father had to be at the service at St Mildred's Church where he was People's Warden. He was anxious to know the news as soon as he could so he had asked my mother to send me along to the church with a message after the Prime Minister had spoken. Mother and I waited in suspense for 11.00am and at last Big Ben struck the hour. The announcer said, "The Prime Minister will now address the nation." Mr Chamberlain confirmed what everyone was anticipating - that war had been declared.

I ran up the road to the church and opened the door. The verger, Mr Skinner, was just inside the door and I asked him to tell father that war had been declared. He said that he'd tell the People's Warden (my father) and that the message would then be passed on to the vicar. I returned home and father got back after about twenty minutes and told us that the vicar had dismissed the service and sent everyone home.

Tenterden High Street was a hive of activity. People were busy filling sandbags and putting them in front of local government offices, the Post Office and other places. I helped fill sandbags until about six o'clock in the evening.

All doctors and nurses had been instructed to go immediately to London so that they could be available if bombs were dropped by the Germans. My father and I went to see Miss Murray who had a shop in the town. She had been a nursing sister during the First World War and was due to leave on the 6.05pm bus to London. I shall always remember her kneeling down, packing her suitcase, with tears running down her cheeks. She had to close up the shop but, fortunately, a friend took care of her dog.

By the end of the day, things had begun to settle down. The blackout had to be put up and candles, emergency food rations and gas masks made ready - just in case. When I undressed for bed, my mother made me lay out my clothes in such a way that I would be able to put them on quickly in an emergency - just as she had been taught to do during the First World War.

We knew war was coming because of all the things we had been hearing about - for example, Danzig and the Polish Corridor. We were full of fear and apprehension as to what the future might hold. That day, we'd had a Sunday roast of lamb and all the trimmings. My father said, "Make the most of it. You might not get another meal like this for a long time."

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