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My Father was a pilot in the 1st World War. He was shot down and taken prisoner, so by the 2nd World War he was of an age where he didn’t qualify for active service, although he was an active member of the A.R.P.

My earliest memory of the War was in 1940, during the Battle of Britain, standing on our lawn at home in Surrey and watching a dog fight with the vapour trail overhead, and then watching, presumably a pilot, floating from the sky on the end of a parachute.

In the early days of the War, I recall spending nights with my elder brother and sister lying under the grand piano in the drawing room. Subsequently, we had an Anderson shelter in the nursery, and then my Father built an underground shelter in the garden, where I remember spending nights in the damp and the cold.

In 1941, whilst staying in Suffolk with my brother and sister, we were out for a walk when we saw a very low Heinkel Bomber presumable returning from a bombing raid, and I recall we were very worried that we would be shot at, as the plane was so very low.

During 1943/1944 when I was at boarding school near Newbury, the school was near to the U.S. Air Force base at Greenham Common, where they used to train the glider pilots, and we used to watch the Dakota tug aeroplanes, and then the gliders would be released. Sometimes there were 2 gliders behind one tug plane. I also recall seeing the planes taking off, towing the gliders on their way to the D-Day landings

I was one of a party of boys that was taken to the U.S base to look over the gliders, and being introduced for the first time to chewing gum!

One of my most vivid memories would have been I guess in 1944, at my home in Surrey, lying in bed and listening to the V1 Doodlebugs, waiting to hear if the engine would cut out.

Where my home was, was close to the H.Q of the Canadian Forces in the U.K, and we and our neighbours had Officers billeted with us, and one of my parents’ friends who lived about a half a mile away phoned to say they had an Officer billeted with them called Cutbill, and thought he might be related to us. We subsequently met this Officer who turned out to be a distant cousin. We kept in touch for many years after the War.

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Jacci Phillips of the CSV Action Desk at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Ian Cutbill and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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