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This story was submitted to the People’s War website by Sandra Beckett on behalf of Kitty Lane, the author, and has been added to the site with his/her permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and condition.
The day war broke out — 3rd September, 1939 — I was at home with my mother, father and sister in Hastings. We listened to Neville Chamberlain on the radio and within minutes the air raid siren sounded We had had numerous Air Raid practices before so feared the worst — but it was a false alarm - an unidentified plane approaching S.E.Coast; so started the so called ‘phoney war’.
I was still at school and we box and coxed with a convent from Greenwich Senior Girls who were responsible for 5 or 6 juniors as our prefects in case of air raids.
Things changed early in 1940 as Holland, Belgium and France fell to Germany. Two of my brothers were in France. One in the army and other the R.A.F. Thankfully they returned safely although many of their comrades fell.
28th May, 1940 (the day Belgium fell) I started nursing in Bath. In those days juniors spent most of their days in the sluice — scrubbing mackintoshes and cleaning. All beds were pulled into the middle of the ward and a nurse did the cleaning. Afterwards all bed wheels had to face away from the door.
MIB was the antibiotics and diet for people using them was important. One day fellow nurses came in and told me Hastings was being evacuated — trains were coming through with Hastings folk. My family were given petrol — told to go west — they got as far as Frome and later my father leased a house in Weston, Bath.
Bombing intensified and Bristol was often targeted — so my family returned to Hastings — rather bombed in your own home than someone else’s. We often heard planes droning over on their way to Coventry etc. If the warning went we had to get dressed and congregate in case of emergencies. One night when I was on duty, Bath was bombed — patients were put under their beds if possible, otherwise protected by pillows etc. Gas was off and as a junior it was my job to heat food. One way was in the dressing sterilizer — I often lost the food and had to clean out everything again.
I left Bath in 1942 and went to Tunbridge Wells to do my training. It was closer to my home and possible to bike home. Lectures etc. were in your off duty. Blood transfusions had started and kits had to be cleaned after every use — filters were glass beads or wire. No disposables then, Penicillin came into use and every dose, 4 hourly — came up from the dispensary and you had to scrub up to give it. How different today.
1944 — Buss bombs started. As long as you heard them o.k. but when the engine stopped you knew they were coming down. They were terrifying at first — fire coming out of rear. We saw many spitfire pilots firing into the rear, sometimes getting too close as they exploded. Rockets were worse as you didn’t hear them coming.
D-DAY. Again I was on night duty and we knew something was up as there was continuous droning as the planes went over.
I was very fortunate as all my family came through the war safely. Many were not so fortunate.
My father had died in 1944 of cancer.

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