大象传媒

On the outbreak of war, in September 1939, all our routines and life in general changed for ever. We were not alone, for many, it would truly be the end of the line. As a child, I was not fully aware of the seriousness of the situation at first, or what was going on in the rest of the country; in fact the world. We were not as well informed with access to the media, as children are today. Television was only being developed and was not in general use. Radio or newspapers were the only methods available. It was not until the early to mid 1950's that television became more widely available.

As part of the war preparations, we were all issued gas masks, which we had to carry with us everywhere. We also took part in drills about what to do in case of a gas attack. The smell of the rubber and the tightness of the mask on you face when breathing in, is still clear in my memory. The face piece would mist up and cause problems seeing where you were. Masks worn by us youngsters had a flap that waggled up and down when you breathed. We called them Mickey Mouse masks. Infants had a respirators provided, later, it was this type of respirator that was used with my infant brother during the air raid warnings, at the start of the war.

My father dug a large hole in our garden, in preparation for the Anderson shelter at our London home. Building the shelter, when issued, was a combined family effort. Holding bolts in position outside the shelter, while Dad tightened the nuts onto the bolts inside the shelter, was, I thought, an important duty for a five year old. Sand bags were utilised to provide a screen which would prevent blast injury by shrapnel and flying debris. During the early days of the war, people were unsure what was going to happen, but we expected the worse. Blast tape was used on the windows in our house and blackout curtains covered the windows at night. Wow betide you if a chink of light escaped, this would soon warrant a visit from a local air raid warden. We had few comforts in the air raid shelter once it was built. Mum and Dad provided the basics of survival to make us as comfortable as possible, but it was very damp inside. We took cover, in the Anderson, when the sirens sounded, which seemed to be almost every night and at any time during the day..

Even in the early days of the war, a time which became known as the Phony War, there was some activity or other completing preparations. The anti-aircraft guns positioned on open ground locally went some way to making us feel secure. Wanstead Flats was just a short walk from our house. I used to collect shrapnel from the top of our air raid shelter in the mornings after the air raids or defensive action by our anti-aircraft gunners. Dad covered the shelter with soil and turfs from the garden lawn, which gave it some protection and dulled the thuds of the bombing and sounds of aircraft. This was also the time of the introduction of barrage balloons and the use of searchlights at night.

One wet afternoon, I remember a black aircraft flying very low over our neighborhood. We were in the garden at the time. Later, when my father returned from work, he told us that a lone German plane had attacked the area down towards the city. This had caused panic and pandemonium with the general public, going about their days work.

The government had previously made plans to look after the civilian population in the event of war. Children and expectant mothers were evacuated away from danger areas, to safer locations in the country. As London was a prime target, I was evacuated with my mother, initially to Suffolk. I can remember travelling on a bus during a thunder storm. Because of the perceived changing situation and degree of threat, our stay in Suffolk was of short duration and consequently, can remember nothing about the actual place we stayed or the people who put us up. Enquiries I have since made of the London Metropolitan Council, regarding evacuation dates and destinations of evacuees, have proved negative. They do not have listings available. I thought that there may be records somewhere which would provide the answer. But no such luck. The golden rule here is always ask questions of your elders while they are still around, I didn't.

While we were away, my father became one of the many civilian volunteers who were active in preparations to defend the capital, digging trenches and filling sandbags. Many of the volunteers worked in the Royal Parks digging trenches but the London Underground was to play a significant part in providing shelter for Londoner's during the bombing raids.

Later I was evacuated once more, but I cannot remember the sequence in which it came; after a brief stay in Shropshire with the family, or after being evacuated to Suffolk. I was sent to Aberbeeg, Gwent, South Wales. It was a mining community, situated in a valley. I can recollect the terraced house I stayed in, also the family. They were very kind, but I cannot recall their names. I can remember looking over a wall in their backyard and seeing the steam trains running along the bottom of the valley through the smoke and gloom caused by the many coal burning fires that we had at that time. Long before smokeless zones. Coal mining was a big industry locally, also very important to the war effort.

One day at the infant school, I remember sitting on the teachers lap and was used as an example to the rest of the class, on the perils of not taking care when crossing the road. The children were lectured on never to run across the road as I did, without looking both ways first. I had a near miss and was nearly hit by a car coming through the village. I can remember that incident, clearly, with the closeness of the vehicle etched in my memory. Luckily I was not injured.

While I was in Aberbeeg, the local gentry held an event to celebrate something or other, the reason for which is now long forgotten by me. Part of the celebrations entailed throwing pennies to the local children, over a wall near the gate on their estate. I got upset because I did not collect any money, but the family I was with gave me some, to pacify me. As an adult, many years later I returned to the valley but could not find any locations of my childhood memories in Aberbeeg.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.