大象传媒

My father was unable to enlist due to a minor illness, so he joined the ARP and went out every night in the ambulances collecting wounded and people killed during the Blitz. He was actually called out to the awful incident at Bethnal Green Underground Station when hundreds of people were smothered and crushed.
My father was a superb French Polisher and worked in various of the well-known furniture manufacturers. i.e. Beautility and others. My mother worked as an 'under-presser' in the tailoring trade in the East End. When the war began in 1939, my parents were getting along with their happy lives and rearing my brother Ronnie, born in 1930. He was evacuated a few times and my parents told me heart-rending stories about borrowing cars and driving to various parts of England to visit him, but Mum was neer happy with where he was placed and would insist on bringing him back to London. So life went on, working during the day and spending lots of nights in air-raid shelters or tube stations and my Dad in the ambulances.
They watched the Battle of Britain over London in 1940 and by this time, to my Mum's consternation she was 6 months pregnant with me, long wanted but not particularly at this awful time. One night, my mum told me, my brother was playing with friends in the street,when the air-raid warning went earlier than usual, hurrying as fast as she was able, she called my brother to her, but had to look further and by the time he got to her, it was too late to go their usual shelter at a pub, so ran to the next one. Dad was out doing his bit when on the way home theyr were stopped and he was told there had been a bad bombing in his area, hurrying home, he was told the pub & shelter had been hit very badly. Not believing he may well have lost his one love and beloved son and a soon to be born new baby.he was devastated. At this moment mum came walking towards him with Ronnie and explained why she was in another shelter, Was she lucky!
That decided my Dad, she was told she would have to go away if only to give hi, peace of mind, she refused saying she would only go if the three of them went, a family. It was arranged that he be transferred to a branch in Staffordshire, where he continued his ambulance driving and rescuing for the next 4/5 years. They were given a cottage on an estate owned by the Wedgewood family (pottery company) in a small village called Moddershall. There, I was born, 4 days before Christmwas 1940, in a roaring snow-storm, as my father battled on a bike to get a doctor, luckily the mid-wife turned up for a call, and all was well. We lived there for about 10 months after I arrived, and then my parents obtained a position as live-in caretakers for a wonderful doctor in Newcaste-under=Lyme and they remained with this practice until 1970.
They would tell me stories as I grew up about their short time in London during this war, the heartaches but also the good times, the comerarderie, the sing-alongs, perties, anything to bring cheer into the community.
They always took me to London after the war to see all their families, but the best time was for the VE Day Parade. I remember being there so clearly, although I was only 4. The flag waving, the marching soldies, songs of veryone around, and people being passed over my head, having fainted. Wonderful memories, I miss my parents, still, but I still have my brother and now my onw family.

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