大象传媒

I suppose what interests me about the war is the way those years are able to stay in ones mind, years that involve so
many people including my parents who both served in the forces, my grandmother who worked in an amunition
factory, my other grandmother had me to look after, my grandfather had already retired , but was called back to
work on the railways.I remember running to meet him comming home from work, often I had to run for the airaid
shelters in the park he walked through. It was amazing how young we were and yet we did not have to be told what
the airaid siren meant and where we had to go.I had five uncles in service and twoaunties in service.I was not
evacuated I dont realy know why , so I stayed in chadwell heath essex. I can only remember having two close
shake ups , one when my dad came home from dunkirk, a bomb dropped in the field at the back of our garden
when we were in the anderson shelter, the force blew the door off and shook things up a bit. Next a few years latter
my school had a near miss , a bomb fell in the road behind and shattered all the windows and skylight so we were
all sent home while the teachers cleared up all the glass. I always remember too the way us infants when in class
and the siren went we all stood up ,fell into a line of two holding hands and marched out of class and into the
playground where there were two big concreate shelters, the teacher told us all to go in quietly no chatter and form
a u shape or horshoe so all the children could fit in round the walls, there were no seats, and then the next line
would follow keeping to the u shape till it was full ,the other shelter being filled at the same time. I think now it
was funny how we all marched in order just like little soldiers, but I suppose it had to be like that it made sense at
the time.
The End

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