大象传媒

CHAPTER VII

HOME FROM EVACUATION

It was arranged that I meet my paternal grandfather, an amiable old chap, on St Pancras Station at 2 o鈥檆lock. When I arrived, he wasn鈥檛 there. I waited for two hours but still no sign of him so I decided to make my own way home as something must have gone wrong.

I hadn鈥檛 a clue how to get home but I knew I had to get to Victoria Station. I took the underground which I had never been on before in my life let alone seen it. I went round the Circle Line three times until I had the courage to get off at Victoria Station. Eventually with some difficulty I arrived at Penge East Station. I was greeted with a 鈥榙oodle bug鈥� going overhead. The old panic set in. I walked to my paternal grandparents鈥� house about 15 minutes journey with even more doodle bugs.

On reaching my grandparents there was no-one in and I didn鈥檛 know what to do. I decided I would go to my maternal grandparents where I had lived before my brother was born. I was waking along Penge High Street when I met my grandmother who I was supposed to live with. 鈥淲here鈥檚 your grandfather?鈥� she asked threateningly. I told her what had happened and that I had been to her house as my father had told me that I was going to live with her. Her exact words were 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not living with me鈥� and she walked off. There I was, two wooden barrows and a brown paper parcels with all my belongings in and doodle bugs overhead with nowhere to go. I decided to go to my grandparents where I had lived up until my brother was born. When I got there, the front door was open and I went in. There was my three year old brother, grandmother and my favourite aunt. I burst into tears. My poor grandmother was ashen faced as she knew nothing of the arrangement for me to come home. I told her what had just happened and my aunt said 鈥淢other, if you don鈥檛 have this boy I will, he鈥檚 been through enough鈥�. 鈥淣ellie鈥� said my grandmother 鈥渁s long as I live these two boys will never be parted again.鈥�

It was a promise she kept, bless her, until she and my grandfather were taken into care through bad health in 1951.

My return heralded more confrontations with my grandfather. He had a field day with me as my father was not yet out of the forces but I was older and beginning to stand my ground.

My father was eventually given a compassionate posting to Biggin Hill to be near my brother and I. He was 45 now and very run down. Health-wise he was suffering from terrible boils and carbuncles on his shoulder blades and spent most of his time in the RAF sick bay. One day, when I visited him, the sister said I could take him home if I could dress his shoulder blades. She showed me how to do it. It was a terrible sight. He spent weeks in agony until the discovery of penicillin. On my frequent visits the sister would always ask me if I would like to take him home and would grant him two or three days sick leave. She was very kind and thoughtful.

Then the VII rockets, a terrible weapon, faster than an aeroplane and the biggest explosion you ever heard and it was impossible to warn of their coming. Several fell close and caused severe damage with many casualties. We learned nervously to live with them. There was no protection against them.

One morning, I was visiting my father鈥檚 parents when we stopped to talk to a friend of his. There was a light fall of snow and the skies were grey and threatening. All of a sudden there was a streak of light with a 鈥榖lob鈥� on the end of it. I instinctively ducked, my father said 鈥淲hat the鈥�..鈥�. He didn鈥檛 finish the sentence when there was one almighty explosion with glass, dust and debris everywhere. Miraculously we weren鈥檛 hurt but badly shaken up. The rocket had dropped on a local bank sports ground. I had never witnessed an explosion like it before or since. Thankfully, that was to be my last encounter with enemy action worth recording. It was now well into 1945 and peace was about to be declared.

The TV now shows great jubilation when Mr Churchill made the declaration of peace with Germany but it wasn鈥檛 like that in our house. After the announcement was made, my grandmother said sombrely 鈥淚f it hadn鈥檛 have been for this war, your dear mother would have been alive today.鈥� I fought back the tears. Many people who had lost loved ones thought the same.

Another month later, peace with Japan, three days after that, at just fifteen, I started work. My war was over, I could forget it, or could I?

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