大象传媒

The storeyteller moved from Clapham to Wallington, when he was eight years old, at the beginning of the war. His mother had died so he and hisfather joined grandmother's family in a large fourteen room, detached house which had a number of cellars. Grandmother cooked for the two families and could always make something out of nothing.

Father and uncle were in the building trade and soon set about converting the cellars into air raid shelters with bunk beds. The neighbours often shared these and would arrive between eight and nine o'clock in the evening. The storyteller thought them a bit 'snobby' as they worked for the Law Courts and local Police and thought themselves socially superior.

Time spent in the cellars sheltering during the air raids was spent playing cards or community singing.The cellars had a number of rooms and the storyteller shared one with his dad. It was all very exciting, a great adventure and he was never really frightened.

The area got bombed regularly as it was on the bomber approach to central London. A large anti aircraft gun site was located close by at Mitcham Common. The German bombers would often drop their bombs short of their targets before turning for home. Their were no real industrial targets, only houses so many properties were damaged.

The storyteller would go to look for shrapnel after the raids. He took home part of the wing of a German fighter as a trophy on one occasion. A cannon shell went through the roof of his uncle's bedroom during one raid.

The storyteller's uncle was called up eventually and joined the Royal Engineers. Father was drafted to build underground factories in the West Country. He had got too close to a blasting explosion and had split his eardrum so could not be called up for military service. The storyteller was evacuated from London in 1943 as the V1 rocket threat emerged. He ended up living at Oakhill, ten miles from Bath where he went to School. He didn't enjoy it there and took the opportunity to return to Wallington to stay with his grandmother and aunts.

The storyteller experienced a V2 rocket explosion close by when he was in a local shop in Wallington. Everything shook and it was the only time he was really frightened. A stick of bombs hit the area and broke windows in the house. The blast from the explosion threw him across the room and he ended up under a chair!

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