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"This story was submitted to the site by the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Peoples War Team in the East Midlands with Annie Webbs permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions"

My name was Annie Bull, born 1st September 1920. I had been courting my boyfriend for a year. His name was William (Bill) Edward Webb, born 26th March 1919.

He was called up 16th October 1939, and we became engaged to be married on New Year's Eve, 1939. He did his training, was sent to France, March 1940 and served in the Royal Army Service Corps driving heavy lorries. We never heard from him, and expected the worst, as so much was going on at that time. He went through to Belgium, and was lucky to escape back to France, and was with some of the last lot of lads to come back to England from Dunkirk on the frigate HMS Worcester.

He had two weeks leave and decided we would get married on 23rd June 1940, so we married on the Sunday and he was sent to the Middle East for 4 years 10 months.

By this time the air raids were raging. I lived with my parents, Annie Louisa Kate Bull and Frank Bull and my 2 year old baby brother Alec in Battersea London. The area was bombed day and night. We couldn't have an raid shelter, as we lived in a first floor flat. We should have gone to a street shelter, but this could not accommodate us too. When the air raids were on we occupied the passage downstairs, the adults on a mattress on the floor and Alec in his pram. On one occasion there was a direct hit on an air raid shelter in an adjacent street where many children and adults were killed — it was a very sad time for the neighbourhood.

We had ack ack guns firing day and night and these were based on Clapham Common, so the flats shook and it was very frightening. We stayed in London during the whole of the war.

Battersea Power Station was not far from us, and we always rushed out after an air-raid to see how many of the chimneys were standing because there were four altogether. We all sent up a cheer if they were intact. Sadly some did get hit.

I worked in a factory, which made military caps and chevrons for military uniforms. I also worked in a munitions factory and walking to work after lunch one day we heard this terrible noise and looked up, and a doodle bug was going straight for this huge chimney on our factory. We flung ourselves on the ground and it just missed by a breath and dropped into Battersea park — it was a tremendous bang.

We all cheered — we were OK.

Bill came back for a month’s leave, February 1945, then was sent to Germany and had to drive officers around to inspect Hilters prison camps. He said it was heartbreaking to see the sights they saw.

He was demobed in 1946. He never spoke much of what happened and lots of his army friends and officers were killed when he was in the desert and he never forgot them.

It was so sad that all those lovely lads lost their teenage years. He was one of the fortunate ones who was lucky enough to return home — thousands didn’t — bless them all.

My dear husband Bill passed away last year, aged 85 and was loved by everyone.

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