大象传媒

Just before the war was declared a few days were taken up by the issuing of gas masks, identity cards and making sure that everybody knew how to deal with the blackout precautions as no lights should be visible during darkness.
Immediately after the war had been declared on 3rd.September 1939 relayed by B.B.C. radio broadcast the air raid warning sounded. My parents and myself with our pets and the other three families who lived in the same house,in Central London, went down to the cellar, which up until that time had been unused. It was dark, dirty and spider infested so we were very glad when the 鈥渁ll clear鈥� siren was heard after a very short time. It had evidently been some sort of test or a false alarm.
I was thirteen years old and had attended an all-girls school which had closed down as most of the children had been evacuated but my parents had decided I should remain with them so I went on to a `mixed` school with boys and girls who had also remained and of all different levels of education. Half day lessons were organized so that the amount of children were `accommodated` fairly for necessary lessons.
In our spare time my friends and I spent a lot of time in Regents Park in part of which a barrage balloon site had been situated. Watching the huge air-shaped balloons being inflated and launched in to the air tethered by strong hawser (cables) on the ground was amazing. These balloons were used all over the capital to deter enemy aircraft.
Sometimes these balloons broke away from their moorings and drifted about and frequently tangling in other balloon cables. I believe they were usually shot down by sharp shooting soldiers when the nuisance became great.
I decided to leave school at fourteen years of age and began work in an office situated in a large building in Poland Street in the West End of London and as, by then, enemy air raids had started in earnest the air raid sirens would have sounded before I finished work at 6p.m.and I would run home through the blacked-out streets to join my parents鈥� and friends who would be sheltering in either Warren Street or Euston Station underground tube stations. The atmosphere was usually good-humoured but as the trains went through the station the passengers alighting were sometimes able to give news of what was going on 鈥渦p top鈥�, as other people did as they came down on to the platforms and naturally this could sometimes cause consternation amongst those 鈥渟heltering鈥� especially if the news was about the particular area in which they lived. I, along with other youngsters used to visit friends who were sleeping in Tottenham Court Road underground station for a chat (free rides on the tube!). We then returned to our beds after a return journey. One morning I arrived home to find that the house had been hit by an 鈥渁erial torpedo鈥� along with some of the adjoining buildings. The police, air raid wardens and others were searching the rubble in case any one had been 鈥渂uried鈥�. These special emergency services did a great job throughout the war! On this particular day, thank goodness there were just one couple who had stayed indoors during the previous night鈥檚 air raid who had been injured and were sent off to hospital. Luckily we were able to find another house which my parents were able to furnish with second-hand furniture and necessary pots and linens.

Our kitchen was often filled with service personnel who were stationed around and about who my parents had met during the daily rounds and who were very happy to come for cups of tea, meals and a good older chat. Although rationed we were able to cater for them owing to the fact that we were keeping rabbits and poultry in the little back yard. Meat and eggs eked out the rations. Each person was allowed 2ozs sugar, 2ozs butter, 4ozs margarine and 4ozs of meat each week. Other provisions were also very scarce. Also fruits from abroad were non-existent.

Every house had a bucket of sand, stirrup pump and a long-handled shovel to extinguish incendiary bomb fires.

At sixteen years of age I joined the Women鈥檚 Land Army and spent the rest of the war as a Land Girl in Oxfordshire, but that鈥檚 another story.

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