大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's war site by Sarah Cooper at the AGC Museum on behalf on Peter Moody, and has been added to the site with his permission. Peter Moody fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

The return from Wimborne was the beginning of the longest period of schooling I received, Rangefield School had re-opened although the periods of teaching depended very much on Hitler, If the sirens sounded while we were at school, we were quickly moved into part of the Downham Central School (located behind ours) which had been converted into a shelter. Also, if an air raid had lasted a certain amount of time the previous night, the school did not open. It was in this period that school meals were introduced. It was possible to have a dinner for; I believe threepence and a tea for one penny. I don't think I was ever allowed to stay at school for dinner but, once or twice, managed to have tea there, I always hoped that we would be given a pudding, which had been left over from dinner.

There were few days when the sirens had not sounded either during the day or previous night. Next morning would often find me out looking for shrapnel - these were pieces of sharp, jagged metal, the remains of shells or bombs. Nose-caps of shells or even the fins from firebombs.

On occasions the air raid would be so heavy that the family would go into the shelter in the garden. This one was always dry. I remember one night the raid was so bad that we dashed from the house to the shelter and everywhere seemed to be on fire. It was like being in the middle of a huge firework display. I remember Dad kept shouting at Ron to get up and go into the shelter. Ron never seemed to want to leave his bed.

At the bottom of one of the fields that dad as grounds-man maintained, was the site of a barrage balloon. This was manned by the Womens branch of the RAF known as the WAAFS. We spent many an evening in their company, playing cards and having the occasional birthday partty for one or the other of them. Their mail was delivered to our house and one of the girls would collect it.

It was during this period that perhaps the most frightening event took place. We kids were coming out of school to go home for dinner. Beryl and I had just got to the house when dad, who was in the extended part of thhe garden, called us to see the chickens which he had recieved from Sevenoaks that morning. Mum was among the fruit bushes picking blackcurrants. I had not got as far as the chicken pen when two very low-flying aircraft came from the direction of Bromley. They could be seen heading straight towards us. Dad shouted to me "look at the Spitfires coming from Biggin Hill". With that all hell broke loose - the two aircraft started firing their guns. Dad shot into the chicken shed, Mum flattened herself between the bushes, tearing her stockings and grazing her knee. Beryl and I kept running until we reached the house and shot straight under the stairs. The huge barrage balloon, which had been bedded down, awaiting an AOC's inspection that morning was at that very moment being made ready by the girls to be released. One of the girls was returning from our house with the mail, when the balloon went up in flames. Canon shells went right through their billet. None of the girls were injured apart from the one returning with the mail; she was affected for quite some time with shock. There was panic in the street as parents thought that the children coming home to dinner had been the targets for the aircraft.

A bomb had dropped up at Churchdown Road. I understood that a child in his pram outside his house had been blown to bits. There was also a bomb dropped on a school in Catford with a great loss of life to both children and teachers. They were all buried together - their grave can be seen at Hithergreen Cemetary.

The question must be, how did the German's know that they could fly at rooftop level over South London because the barrage balloons would be bedded down awaiting an inspection by top brass?

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