大象传媒

THE BLITZ BEGINS

In 1938, I had spent a few days as an 鈥渆xtra鈥� during the filming of 鈥滸oodbye Mr. Chips鈥� at Pinewood Studios; it was very boring and I did not eventually appear on the film. However, I was paid a guinea a day and this was a princely sum, considering that my pocket money at the time was only sixpence a week! With the proceeds, I bought an ex-naval telescope from a second-hand shop; this came with a brass swivel mounting. I had been evacuated with my school to Devonshire in 1939 because it had been expected that London would be bombed to bits by the Luftewaffe, but although the Battle of Britain was taking place, the bombers stayed away from London for some months. So, in the Summer of 1940, it was deemed safe for me to go home for the Summer holidays.

I remember that the weather was pretty good and I spent a lot of time in the garden using the telescope to watch the fighter planes taking off from nearby Hendon RAF Station, although disappointingly they usually flew away South after taking off and disappeared from view. However, one afternoon, I heard the sound of a lot of planes and, pointing the telescope upwards I saw a great number of planes at a high altitude. Like most boys at the time, I was very keen on aircraft recognition and could recognise all the RAF and German planes, but mainly from pictures; in Devon we saw only transport planes and the odd Sunderland flying boat, but this time I was able to identify dozens of German Dornier 17 and Heinkel 111 planes flying in close formation towards central London. I quickly called my Mother to see them and to boast how I had identified the planes but, rather than praising me, she hustled me indoors I spite of my protestations.

My Brother, who was home on leave from the Royal Engineers, later used one of my Mother鈥檚 precious petrol coupons to take me in the family car up to Hampstead Heath, the highest point overlooking London, and we watched the flames and smoke rising from the East End and the Docks which had been the German target. That was the start of the blitz which went on, firstly by day and later by night, for the next three years; I was quickly bundled off back to Devon and saw no more of the Blitz until I left school and came home at the end of 1941.

Incidentally, I still have the telescope, but now I only look at birds with it!

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