大象传媒

Saturday 10th May 1941, is a date never forgotten because I was Fire Watching on the roof of the Mapping Section office of the Coal Commission in Catherine Place, Westminster, Just Behind Buckinghan Place - Fire Watching on that night with three other 16-17 year olds, one of whom has been my friend ever since. Alert against incendary bombers if there was an air raid - and all of us had lived through many such nights. But we did not know that this was to be the culminating raid on London - the last night of the blitz.

The incendraries came first and by a fluke fell exactly in the middle of the road and burned themselves out with no need of our attention. The high explosives followed. We were thrown down the stairs from the roof, this was a night which seemed intermurable and in my mind I was not going to survive until morning. The fires were all around us, the tall building shook from time to time. At last we retired down below to the deepest room and there eventually the "All Clear" sounded about 6.00am Sunday morning.
There was no underground trains running, I walked from Victoria to Liverpool Street station across the City of London through scenes of devastation on a heavy grey morning with deserted Buildings, fire hoses and a curious lack of people. What could not be saved had been abandoned. By St Paul's I looked up to see bright sunshine in the dawn the greyness - it was all smoke!

I got home (to Gidea Park)from a Liverpool Station where some train still ran. The Great Eastern Hotel at the entrance was burning its upper floors out.

At home my parents reported their church and hall were destroyed. I went to the 9.30am service in Romford.

In the evening I was at tea in my friend Ivor's house and I was going to go with them to their Baptist Chapel. We were listening on the radio to the 'Brains Trust' - the popular 'any questions' Programme(no T.V. Then).

Then I woke up - I had been asleep for hours, I suppose I was tired out and abit shocked.

But such was the experince of all of us around London at that time, it was thrown off as almost normal.

Rodney stone (aged 16)
Extract from His Diary 1941,
out of his "Rod & God Journal" 1998

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