大象传媒

I was 7 in 1939 when the war started. It started on Sept 3rd & I was just moving up to the big school. There were 7 classes & you ent there when you were 7 & left when 14.
Because of the outbreak of war there was no school. But that lasted only a couple of days. We were at the big new school before the end of the week. We also took sandwiches for our lunch because there was no such thing as a school canteen.
Because of the war we as children used to play at being soldiers. We would put ashes & dust from the fire, which we had to clear out each morning before going to school into paper bags. Then at home time we would throw them at the wall or the fence. They would burst open & there would be a cloud of dust which to us looked like an explosion. No walls ever got blown up, but we did make holes in hedges & would scramble through into the next field.
Where we called up the fields the army had comandered a small hill known as Red Hill & used it as a hand grenade practice area. When they were not using it we would go into their area & look for what we called chocolate squares.
Also the army pinched our school recreation ground, so we had no sports except what we could do in the playground, which of course hada tarmac surface.
During the summer holidays, my dad (who had been in the Artillary in the first world war) would take me with him in his bread van to deliver bread & cakes to some of the Army barraks which seemed to be in several places. I was never allowed to get out of the van while at these camps. I was the youngest boy in the family of 7, 6 boys & one girl. My 4 older brothers were 2 in the Air Force & 2 in the navy. One of my brothers in the navy was was killed on D-Day in 1944, when our troops landed in france. My eldest brother was in the far east with the airforce. We had not heard from him for about 4 or 5 months & Singapore had been captured by the Japenese. I shall always remember seeing my mum one day as I arrived home from school in the lounge window which faced the street. When I got in I could see she had a telegram still in it's envelope & she just kept turning it over. Later when dad came in he said we had better open it even if the news is bad. He did & it read "I'm alright & I should be coming home soon". Love Jac.
A couple of other memories were(1) being woken up by a loud banging on the front door knocker, one Sunday morning & someone shouting. Dad was a sergent in the Home Guard & there was an alarm because they thought that the German troops were attempting to land. Dad Had been called onto full alert. But I think he was back home soon after lunch. It had either been a false alarm or they had been defeated.
(2) Living where we did, we weren't oftem bombed like some of the major cities. One evening about 7:30ish my brother & I were in the back garden talking with mum & we heard this areoplane. That sounds like a German plane Harold said & we watched it. Mum said its going over your school, probablr more thana mile away. Then a real loud bang. & H said thats the best thing the Germans ever did. We thought the school had been blown up. We were both excited about that. BUT it didn't last long cos when dad got in from his Home Guard duties of that evening he explained it had been the railway lines that had been hit. During our lunch time from school on the following day we went to look & although there were a lot of men with shovels etc, the lines were back in order& they were testing them with trucks & a shunting engine.
At the end of the war I remember having a street party. Mostly all the local street children sitting round tables & enjoying a good party feast. Plus dad & some of his Home Guard friends letting off fire crackers & things that went Bang.

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