大象传媒

I was born on 23rd September, 1940 at No 7, Back Lane (this is now Brookfield Road), behind the railway where the bridge at Patchway. On 25th September I was two days old and my mother, Mrs Joan Cutler, heard planes coming over. Presuming they were ours she went outside and waved at them. It transpired that they were 50 Dorniers, dropping thousand pound bombs! She ran back inside as they dropped their bombs all down the railway. They were probably looking for the Shadow factory, where they were making engines for Spitfires, Hurricanes and tanks, that is, it was blanket bombing. They found a thousand-pounder two years ago in the bank - it is still there.

The Dorniers went on to bomb the Filton Airfield, and my uncle Arthur Bailey, mother's brother, was sitting on top of one of the air-raid shelters and got killed. When they had the fifty year anniversary of that raid, I was the youngest there. I had was just two days old!

So on the next day, 26th September, I was sent over to Hambrook Lane to stay with my grandmother. This was because in 1938 a pipeline had been installed behind our house for all the aviation fuel, and my mother was afraid of incendiary bombs. She was put on fire watch, so she had to stay there, but of course she visited me. My mother also worked for Sammy shields at the Filton Laundry. It was her job to see to the American uniforms.

Also on September 26th 501 Squadron was moved from the south coast to Filton because they were needed for protection of the airfield, so they had a base here, which paid dividends. On 27th September I understand that blanket bombing was supposed to happen over Bristol again, but they were met by the Hurricanes so they couldn't do it.

In the November of 1940 Bristol was bombed. I could hear and see that, I was in Stoke Gifford,I could see the lights. There was a great big gun emplacement outside my Nan's door. The noise damaged my hearing because I was so young (I was two months old). I can remember in the same November seeing it all again. I am afraid of thunder and lightening as it sounds just like guns.

So there I am over with Nan, and in the meantime my father, Victor Nelson Cutler, was at Catterick Camp training to use the tanks that the engines were being made for just across from where we lived!

When I was a little older I can remember seeing a dogfight between a Messerschmidt and a Hurricane. The German plane had a French pilot, and was doing a reconnaissance, and he had pictures of Bristol's only power station down at Broadweir. We caught him and shot him down. This is a very vivid in my mind.

I've seen various aeroplanes - 1943 Lancasters, Wellingtons, B47s (American), all the war planes. I was still living at Stoke Gifford, I'd be about three. I was told what they were and I recognised them. The sound of those engines stays with me - you can't get away from the sound.

............................................

My dad had gone off with the Gloucesters Tank Regiment to be a Desert Rat, and he was mentioned in Despatches. He had driven the Duke Of Beaufort round in the desert in an armoured car because the arab women were trying to blow up the oil pipe lines. Dad was at El Alamein, then Alexandria, then Sicily, then Monte Casino; then he went to Rome, still with the Gloucesters. I've got his cap badge.

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