大象传媒

Geoff Claxton's Memories 1938-45
I am eight years old and talk of war is everywhere. The newspapers talk of Adolf Hitler and his No. 2 Hess, the man with green eyes. we go to Norwich city my parents and I, and the auxiliary forces are having mock air raid exercises and the streets are thick with fire hoses.

We have a new company in the village, a dutch agriculture firm and they are building new farms, including two massive barns later to be called the 'secret red barns'. German steel workers are used to build these, and we have two as lodgers and every time they leave for work they give the 'Heil Hitler' salute.

It's now 1939, September 4th and local people are bringing sand bags to every house for incendiary bombs to be extinguished. Low flying Black Whitworth Whitely bombers are surveying for airfields to be built. A.R.P. classes are held in the village school. Rationing and clothing coupons start. Our railway station (Guestwick) is swamped every day with hundreds of workers going to build Foulsham R.A.F. airfield.

I watch many hundreds of army vehicles passing our house; I don't mind - I love watching them!(a hobby I continue through to this present day).

My Dad is 37 and has to register for military service but he did not go because he was probably too old so worked on the land instead. My uncle who was 18 was called up. I watched men who were reservists assemble at the railway station; some we saw again, many we didn't. Mum went to work on the land. Our school had its windows taped over. I saw my first air fight between Spitfires and Messerschmits. Norwich gets bombed heavily. Soldiers are everywhere and search lights sweep the sky at night. Dad joins the Home Guard and I join the army cadets (1941). I went with the Home Guard as messenger and on exercise with them in army vehicles. I never once thought about the danger but I would now! We had R.A.F. boys around to share cheese on toast - about all we could give them!!

Some of our aircraft were missing last night. The airmen's wives are billeted in our local farm house. The German battleship Tirpitz is sunk. Hess crashes in Scotland and a ship full of British P.O.W.'s is captured by the Royal Navy. My mates and I visit a crashed British bomber. My uncle goes to Burma.

What if? I now start to be concerned and I hope it ends soon!

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