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During the War years I had 3 children aged 11 and 7 years old and a baby of 9 months. It was a very harrowing time when the siren went off as we had no air raid shelter — the children had to get under the table. One thing I can remember was my daughter who had been to the cinema and was very nearly home when she heard a Doodlebug. It was all right as long as you could hear it but the trouble began when the noise stopped. Then you knew it was going to fall and she couldn’t get under the table in time. We’ve often laughed about it since as her bottom was sticking out!

Another time I shall never forget was when the local church was bombed. Before my husband went down to Cambridge on bomb damage he brought the biggest bed downstairs so we could all sleep together while he was away. The 3 children had got whooping cough and Aubrey, my son coughed so much that I wasn’t able to get him out of the bed. I heard the whine of a bomb as it came down and realised it was very close to our house. One of my neighbours came and told me not to put the children to bed as the bomb had come down near the church but had not unexploded. They were not sure where it was but it was found the next day not far away.

These are most vivid memories I can recall, during the War I lived in Tilkey Road in Coggeshall. Now I am 88 years old and still live in the village.

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