大象传媒

The War in Ruislip Manor Part 2

It was difficult to find your way during the war as the authorities removed all signposts in case they would have helped the Germans in an invasion.

My father was stationed at A.R.P. wardens post K4 in Bessingby Field. Ruislip Manor.. In the early time of the war there was no telephone installed at the wardens post and as we were one of the very few families to have a telephone and lived just a short distance from the wardens post an arrangement was made whereby we would be told of impending air raids and state of alert, green, amber or red and either I or my mother would then run to the wardens post to pass on the message to enable the air raid siren to be sounded in good time. Fortunately there was no need to put this into operation before the telephone was installed in the wardens post.

My father owned a Morris 8 car and used this while petrol rationing was in force but had to lay the car up in 1942 for the duration of the war as petrol was then only issued for wartime purposes. While he was able to use the car we made occasional visits to the seaside but were unable to get to the beaches as they were mined and covered in barbed wire. The centre sections of seaside piers were demolished in case they were used by the Germans in an invasion.

The 鈥淧honey War鈥� was a strange experience. Although nothing happened to us at home we were always expecting an air raid or an invasion by the Germans (or 鈥淛erries鈥� as we called them). There was much speculation that German spies would arrive by parachute and we were all on the alert. We were all issued with identity cards which we had to carry at all times (we could see the reason for this in war time) and ration books for food and coupons for petrol. There was only one brand of petrol, 鈥淧ool鈥� petrol.

The huge silver-grey barrage balloons had become a familiar sight. We had learnt how to operate stirrup pumps and how to put out an incendiary bomb with a bucket of sand.

When the first air raids started in August 1940 it was in a strange way a relief. At least we now knew what war was about. It was fascinating to see the searchlights criss-crossing in the sky searching for enemy aircraft, the sound of the ack-ack guns firing at the bombers and the occasional tracer bullets from the fighters. Living so close to Northolt aerodrome the Spitfires and Hurricanes would take off over our house and I used to wave to the pilots from my bedroom window. I still thrill to the sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine. We quickly learnt the difference between the note of the engines of the German planes and our own and to identify the different types of plane.

The lawn in our back garden was dug up to build the Anderson Shelter which was constructed of six curved corrugated steel panels with flat corrugated steel end panels. The shelter was buried some three to four feet deep, lined with concrete inner walls up to ground level, and the top was completely covered with soil on which grass and plants eventually were grown. We were fortunate in that we had electricity laid on to the shelter from the house which enabled us to have electric light, an electric fire and electric ring to boil a kettle as well as a small De Wald radio so that we could listen to broadcasts during the many hours we spent in the shelter. To ensure that no light could be seen from the shelter there was a black curtain over the entrance and a timber porchway protected by sandbags. To enable us to get into the shelter without jumping down we used to step on to a large wooden blanket box which was filled with tinned food and water in case we were trapped in the shelter.

We spent many nights sleeping in the Anderson shelter and always listened to the radio. One broadcast that we always listened to was a German propaganda programme - news from 鈥淟ord Haw Haw鈥�, an English traitor William Joyce. We always had a good laugh at the way the Germans tried to make us downhearted by broadcasting news that we were losing the war (even if sometimes there was some truth in it). We also listened to the various wartime programmes such as 鈥淚TMA鈥� with Tommy Handley, 鈥淢onday Night at Seven鈥� (later Monday Night at Eight)鈥�, 鈥淏and Wagon鈥� with Arthur Askey and Kenneth Horne, 鈥淚n Town Tonight鈥� and the Nine o鈥� Clock News with various news readers such as Bruce Belfrage who always identified themselves by name 鈥淗ere is the news and this is Bruce Belfrage reading it鈥� so that people recognised the voice and would not be taken in if an enemy were to broadcast false news. Other good programmes were Children鈥檚 Hour with Uncle Mac. Toytown and Wurzel Gummidge were always enjoyed. Workers Playtime was a variety programme broadcast at lunch time from various factory canteens.

Our air raid shelter measured 6鈥�6鈥� x 4鈥�6鈥�, the inside was painted cream and it was fitted with three bunks made from timber and flat steel strips, one either side and a smaller one for me which ran across the end of the shelter near to the roof. After a short time in the shelter the condensation from our breath would form on the roof of the shelter and drip down on me in my top bunk. By morning my bedding would be quite wet. If I sat up in bed my head would hit the corrugated iron roof so I soon learnt to keep my head down when I woke up! We all slept in the shelter for most nights in 1940. 鈥淛erry鈥� (the Luftwaffe) would arrive with monotonous regularity at about 11.00 p.m. by which time I would have been asleep for a couple of hours when the air raid siren would wail and wake me up. My mother would wrap me up in my dressing gown which she had made from an old car rug, and we would go down into the shelter where we would spend the rest of the night fitfully sleeping between the sound of bombs whistling down and exploding around us and the barking of the ack-ack (anti-aircraft guns). When bombs fell nearby the whole shelter would vibrate. On one occasion during a heavy air raid the electricity in the shelter failed and my father risked life and limb by leaving the shelter to change the fuses in the house to restore the supply. We all had our steel helmets to give protection against falling shrapnel, but they did not protect against much else. Gas masks of course had to be taken with us wherever we went.

We had a young kitten named Soot. The first time we were warned of an air raid by the siren the poor little kitten was so frightened by the eerie wailing sound of the alert that he trembled violently and peed on the settee cushion. Needless to say he was not scolded for this as he was otherwise well house trained. During the air raids which followed in 1940 Soot used to follow us all to our corner of the dining room underneath the staircase which we thought to be the safest place in the house during day time raids. We used to wear our tin hats during a raid. When we went to our Anderson shelter, Soot would always come in with us and snuggle down on a bunk.

After an air raid we would collect pieces of shrapnel, cartridge cases and 鈥渨indow鈥� (silver paper dropped by enemy aircraft to confuse our Radar). I still have a couple of pieces of 鈥渨indow鈥�. Swapping pieces of shrapnel was a popular pastime at school. It was often a dangerous practice to pick up shrapnel shortly after an air raid as it was very hot and could burn the skin.

I often travelled up to the West End with my mother and would see the shattered buildings sometimes still smouldering after the previous night鈥檚 air raid. Also I remember the devastation in the City area when I visited my father at his office. It was strange to see the remains of tall buildings with fireplaces and wallpaper still intact but the rest of the building only a heap of rubble. These walls were quickly demolished as they were unsafe.

Food rationing made us very conscious of the value of food and we never left anything on our plate at the end of a meal. We grew vegetables in our garden instead of flowers and grass and I learnt a lot about gardening as I had my own little plot of land in which I grew carrots and lettuces. We still use one of the wartime recipes for upside-down pie on a regular basis today. Rose hip syrup and malt with cod liver oil were available for children. In 1942 it became illegal to make white bread and the 鈥渘ational loaf鈥� was an unappetising grey colour. I was delighted when white bread became available again after the war.

Clothing was rationed and my mother was an expert at 鈥渕aking do and mend鈥� and knitting garments using wool unpicked from old garments. Toys were scarce and my mother made dolls and soft toys from old dresses and her wedding dress. These were much prized by my school friends who received them on their birthdays.

As a child I was affected by the rationing of sweets. My parents used to give up part or all of their sweet ration for me. I used to buy Wrigleys Spearmint chewing gum and Rowntrees Fruit Gums as you could get more of those for your ration than you could get chocolate, and as the fruit gums were more brittle than they are today you could snap them into quarters to make them last longer. On rare occasions I would buy a Mars bar and cut it into very thin slices to make it last for several days. Ovaltine tablets and Horlicks tablets were not on ration and I developed a liking for them as substitute sweets.

On the decisive day of the Battle of Britain we were enjoying a picnic in Burnham Beeches watching the many dog-fights in the sky overhead. Little did we realise the significance of those aerial battles at that time fought by our courageous pilots. When we arrived home everywhere was deserted and people had been in their shelters all day while we had enjoyed the fresh air of the countryside.

The air raids stopped as the war progressed and we were able to sleep indoors at night instead of in the Anderson shelter. However the next phase of aerial bombardment started in June 1944 as Hitler launched his V1 doodlebugs. The speed of the doodlebugs meant that there was no time for air raid sirens to give warning of their approach. The engine of these unmanned missiles made a distinctive 鈥渨hump 鈥� whump鈥� noise as the doodlebug approached. As soon as the noise stopped we knew that the missile would drop and we dived for cover under the table or wherever we felt safest. I did not worry too much about the doodlebugs as they could be seen flying across the sky with the flames coming from the engine. The worst missiles for me were the V2 rockets which travelled faster than sound and started arriving later in 1944.. The explosion came first followed by the sound of the rocket whistling to earth. The explosion and vibration could be heard and felt for some distance from the point of impact. The V2s were more powerful than the V1s and certainly more unnerving as you had no time to take cover and never knew when one would land. I was very glad when these weapons ceased.

On D-Day on 6 June 1944 I was awakened by the tremendous sound of many heavy aircraft droning overhead and on looking out of the window I was amazed to see the sky almost blacked out by aircraft towing gliders. Wave after wave came over for a considerable length of time. This was the first time I had seen a plane towing a glider and the sight of so many at once has left me with a lasting memory of that day. Of course at the time we did not know the reason for this but later in the day heard on the radio the news of the D-Day landings. I then followed the progress of our forces every day on the radio and in the newspapers until the wonderful day on 8 May when we heard that the war in Europe was over. The war in the far east continued until August 1945 but it was remote from us and although we rejoiced on VJ day it did not have the same impact as VE day.

VE day was celebrated by bonfires with guys of Hitler on top, thunderflashes for fireworks, music and dancing in the street and in the field opposite our house. There was a fancy dress parade and street parties for children with tables and chairs in the road and food which miraculously appeared.

The War was an exciting time for me as I was growing up and it has made me appreciate our freedom and the wonderful country that we have. It is a terrible thing that so many lives were lost and homes destroyed and we have to honour those who fought for us by ensuring that needless conflicts are not entered into in future.

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