大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from CSVBerkshire on behalf of Valerie Watson and has been added to the site with her permission. Valerie fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

Wartime Childhood in Welling

I was four years old at the beginning of the war and lived in Welling in north Kent with my parents, my twin brother John and younger brother, Brian. My father suffered from stomach ulcers and was exempt on health grounds from conscription. He worked for Cable and Wireless on the embankment in London and was doing a useful job.

I remember all the neighbours helping each other to dig up the back gardens where the shelters were to go. I was upset because the only place for ours was just where we had a lovely swing. We spent many hours in that shelter - it was really difficult to get up in the middle of the night and my brother, John, always seemed to be asleep as he was persuaded down the stairs. I found it very frightening with lots of noise. Our house was near the Woolwich Arsenal which was an obvious target for the German bombers. Bombs fell all around us.

I remember a friend of the family whose father was killed while on duty as an air raid warden. There was lots of sadness and crying. The bombing did have its fun side, too. We children enjoyed collecting the shrapnel and keeping it in little boxes. John remembers the funny songs we used to sing about Hitler and the Nazis - some of them were very rude! We watched the dog fights of the Battle of Britain in the skies above us. It was exciting but frightening and scary, too.

My parents had put off our evacuation for as long as possible but eventually agreed it was too dangerous for us to stay. It was a most traumatic event. Our parents were determined that the three of us should stay together and put all our clothes in one suitcase. We wore labels with our names on and carried our gas masks. We travelled on two trains and eventually arrived in Yorkshire. As our mother had said we must not be separated we were left standing until last as others went off to new homes. Nobody wanted three children and in the end I went with one lady and my brothers with another. Although it was a very lovely part of Yorkshire we were not happy. It was a long walk to school and it all felt very strange especially as the children spoke with an accent we found difficult to understand. Unfortunately the elderly lady who took in the boys could not cope with them and locked them in after school. I was living opposite and used to see them at the window.

After a while the bombing seemed to quieten down and my father came to take us home. But then the doodle bugs started. It was quite terrifying - the noise and then the silence waiting for the bomb to drop. My father鈥檚 health worsened and he was hospitalised. It seemed we had to travel miles to visit him. We lived a long way from the shops and in order to save the bus fare my mother used to walk and then queue for hours when she heard that apples or other rare food was available. Everything was very scarce, of course, I remember wanting a doll but had to wait until I was 10 years old before being given a doll made of plaster. Occasionally we went to the cinema and sometimes the air raid sirens went while we were there. We had to make a choice - most people decided to stay and watch the film. Owing to the blackout there were no street lights, consequently, no light pollution and I clearly remember the wonderful night skies full of stars. We had torches to show our way home.

The radio was a very important part of life. The adults all sat around listening to the latest news and it was wonderful and unbelievable to hear that the war had ended. I went with my mother and a friend and her mother up to London to watch the victory parades. It was all very exciting but I got lost in the crowds and ended up in a police station until my mother finally found me. It was a good time with all the street parties to enjoy.

Then, with the change of government, life changed for us all and we had the opportunity to go to Grammar School and eventually university.

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