大象传媒

I was just seven when the second World War broke out. With my parents I lived in a district of Harrow called Kenton in an area of 1930s houses, some in blocks of eight, some in fours and some as semi detached pairs. All had gardens usually around 80ft long by 22ft or 30ft wide (depending on whether they had garages at the side of the end houses). Originally the gardens were laid to lawn with flower borders and possibly a small vegetable patch. But with the war and the 'Dig for Victory' campaign the flower borders and often the lawns were dug up and replaced with much larger vegetable patches. Homeowners were encouraged to keep chickens and wooden chicken houses about 8ft by 6ft sprang up with wire netting chicken runs in many gardens. Food scraps from the house such as potato pealings were boiled up for food to help eke out the normal chicken feed.

I remember the collections of metal items 'help build a Spitfire, give us your old pots and pans' where the local authority sent lorries with open truck backs round all the residential roads to collect anything. Nothing was left untouched. Railings round gardens and steel or iron chains hanging between posts were all cut off and taken.

I first remember being aware of the War on the Sunday afternoon of 3 September 1939 and can still remember the occasion today. My parents were keen tennis players and I was walking with my mother on the way to the tennis courts which were situated in the grounds of paint brush manufacturers, Hamiltons, in Harrow. My mother was crying and I asked what was the matter. She replied that war had been declared and that we would have to be brave as there would be bombing and that my father would probably have to go and fight. She remembered the first World War.

For the first few months nothing much happened. There was rationing, as I mentioned earlier gardens were given over to growing vegetables, we ourselves did not keep chickens but neighbours on both sides did and we were registered with one of them to supply us with the egg ration. To ensure fairness each family had to be registered with a particular shop for the supply of the food ration but in the case of eggs a private householder with chickens could be the supplier.

But during 1940 the air raids started. Harrow was by no means one of the worst affected areas unlike east and south London and the dockland areas. But often the German bombers after dropping bombs on Central London would pass over us as they turned to head east again towards Germany. Some still had bombs to drop and the some fell within a few hundred yards of us. The nearest was within a quarter of a mile and a semi detached house was destroyed killing both families including one of my school friends.We did not have an Anderson shelter but during an air raid we sat in the cupboard under the stairs which had been found to offer some protection against all but a direct hit from a bomb.

There were no metal toys available as using metal they were banned. We sometimes ate out at 'British Restaurants' which offered a basic but nutritious meal.

After D-Day in June 1944 there came the attacks by the flying bombs, V1s, or Doodlebugs call them what you will. Several reached Harrow and there was always the concern after the engine had stopped as to where they would fall. On one occasion a Spifire was giving chase to a V1 and shot it down in Kenton but I seem to remember it fell on waste ground and only damaged rather than destroying the nearby houses. The Spitfire pilot it was reported later went to the houses and apologised as he was aiming to get the V1 bomb to fall in woodland further on. Then came the V2 rockets and again we had a few in Harrow. They were so frightening as there was no warning. While cycling to school I saw a sudden explosion in the sky about a mile away during early 1945 and later learnt that a V2 rocket had exploided before reaching the ground. By this time we had a Morrison shelter in our dining room a steel structure about 3ft high and around 6ft by 4ft long and wide and steel table on top under which we could sleep.

At the end of the War on VE day like so many others my mother took me to London and we were outside Buckingham Palace and saw the King and Queen. Our war was over.

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