大象传媒

I have, as yet, not written a story as such but have started to assemble a few memories.
The first draft is added ( I hope)
Recollections from World War 2
From Kenneth Jerden-Cooke
Re the Order of St John and 大象传媒 project 鈥� WW2 People鈥檚 War
I have a few memories which may be of use; I was aged 6 years 3 months at the start

My first memory is of going to school for the first time in August 1939. Half way through my third day (Friday 1st Sept) I was surprised to find that the school children were all leaving to be evacuated to the country while I was taken home by my mother, because she did not want me to go with them. The school building then became an auxiliary fire station. My mother and I went to stay with relatives in Bournemouth for a while, my father was working for the Ministry of Information in a mobile capacity. I returned to a different school in 1943, having not been to any school in the mean time.

1. On Sept 3rd, Sunday morning (the day war was declared) I was with my 19 year old brother somewhere near Holborn, riding my tricycle when the sirens sounded at 11 am. He started to run and I pedalled after him in some confusion, hitting a pile of sand bags and falling of the trike. He returned to pick me up and we went into the basement of a large building nearby until the 鈥渁ll clear鈥�, this left me very puzzled at the time, as I had not yet heard of 鈥渁ir raid warning鈥�. On returning home we found our mother filling sandbags, and still no one explained to me what it was about.

2. I remember, sometime later being on London Bridge (the one that is now in Arizona), looking between the stone balustrades. We could see the Surrey docks on fire from the previous nights air raids, framed as a view through Tower Bridge.

3. Early in 1943 I was looking out of the window at a small aircraft which was being fired at by anti-aircraft guns. It was shot down and disappeared behind a nearby church. There followed a big explosion with debris flying into the air, obviously the result of explosives. We were told of the existence of 鈥淰1鈥� flying bombs a few days later.

4. Some time in about 1943, I was standing by a wardens post near the Elephant & Castle as a V1 鈥渄oodle bug 鈥� flew over going East. It suddenly turned round and came back towards me and the engine stopped. I still can鈥檛 remember getting down the steps into the underground post, as it crashed and exploded a few hundred yards away.

5. Another memory, at about this time was arriving at school (near Kings College Hospital) to find holes in the hall roof, caused by cannon shells from fighter aircraft which had had a 鈥渄og fight鈥� above not long before.

6. Later, I was with my mother at home, when a loud explosion shook the building. My mother rushed towards the window and was grabbed and pushed behind a door by me as I feared the window would blow in, which it did not. I later found that the explosion was an early 鈥淰2鈥�, which made a very big hole opposite the Borough tube station.

My wife, of the same age was a child in Swindon. She may be persuaded to talk about their East End of London evacuees

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