大象传媒

About 18 months after the start of the War I volunteered for service in the RAF. People may recollect that the whole process of examinations, especially for male recruits,by medical boards had become the butt of stand up comedians and to put it mildly I was not looking forward to the examination. I was utterly amazed therefore to find I was examined very thoroughly and kindly by the several doctors involved and then sat awaiting the result. To my surprise I was told that the officer in charge wanted to see me in his office. He shook my hand, asked me to take a seat, asked if I would like tea or coffee, then questioned me about any previous illnesses of any import. My answer was "no" and he said that for various reasons he would like me to be seen by an eminent, titled, consultant in Harley Street who again examined me and asked was I certain I had not withheld anything as he felt I had, knowingly or otherwise. I replied that I had been diagnosed with rheumatic fever as a child and in fact had been unable to attend school for about 18 months - 2 years after I had first started, aged 5. The consultant came to the conclusion that I should be graded Class 4 for various reasons, especially as my blood pressure was exceptionally high. He could see I was upset and spent a long time explaining to me why I should not be, because in the forces anyone who was not fit could unwittingly be the cause of others being killed or injured.
Later in the war I was working for a well known firm of industrial auctioneers, surveyors and valuers. The partners and a number of senior staff had been evacuated to Edgware but as I was relatively junior at the time I worked full-time in London. One Saturday just after mid-day I had just told the young typist that she could go home and was in the process of taking the keys out of my pocket to lock up as I was the only person remaining in the building. While I was doing so I heard the drone of a "flying bomb" or V2, generally referred to as a "doodlebug". Suddenly the engine cut out and I knew this meant trouble. I was alert but not too worried until it seemed the whole world had been shaken. I can only describe it as being like an old fashioned horror film when they seek to show a major disaster. When I looked up I saw that all the windows and their frames had been blown out, the ceiling plaster had fallen, some of the lights were still hanging and some were on the floor. I suddenly realised that I was still there and appeared to be all in one piece! There was a warm feeling around my head and ears and when I put my hand up I could feel bits of glass and blood. I tried to clean myself off, then an ambulance arrived and they wanted to take me with others to hospital. I did not think it was necessary, managed to telephone my brother who came and took me home. The family GP came and very skilfully removed all the glass with tweezers. I was able to go back to work some days later.

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