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FAMO2JMW WWIIMemorabilia
2005-07-17

When I was a two-year-old living in Maidstone in 1940 at the time of the Battle of Britain my father was an RAF fitter stationed at Detling airfield (having volunteered from his work at Kent County Hall, Maidstone)

He narrowly escaped when the airfield was hit by a lightning raid and several bombs were dropped

Being stationed near his home he was able to get a 'sleeping-out' pass and so was able to come home to see my mother and I

Consequently, on a particular day when there was an air raid alarm he was able to check that we had gone down into the Anderson shelter he had built in the back garden Needless to say, my mother had put me in the shelter but she was busy preparing lunch in the kitchen

Father recognised the sound of bombs dropping and insisted we all were together in safety with, in fact some factory girls who were passing the house at the time

When there was a tremendous crash, he was very pleased that he had been able to get home and get us under shelter — even more so when he emerged and found the house badly damaged Unfortunately a neighbour was killed even though she had taken shelter: and Father was proud of the good job he had made of digging in the shelter

Fortunately grandfather lived at Halling across the river Medway in quite a big house so we were removed with our remaining possessions (on a trailer behind a work colleague's car) and later found our own accommodation nearby

When my father was posted to Norfolk, he again was able to get a 'sleeping-out' pass and so we all went to live there but when he was later posted to West Africa we couldn't follow him and had to wait until after the war to be reunited

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