大象传媒

I lived in McCullum Road in Bow, within the sound of Bow Bells. My eldest daughter was born in 1943.

My husband was in the navy. He was in a reserved occupation, but decided to join up. He was on a number of different ships. He was a very good boxer, eventually becoming a champion of the fleet in the class of bantom weight. After the war he became a professional boxer.

I felt safe in the shelters when there was a bombing raid on. We lost the top part of our house, so we were sent to Halifax at the end of 1943. After two days I returned home because they weren't very friendly up there. They didn't want us.

We arrived back in London at Kings Cross station just as it was being bombed. Some nuns helped us by sheltering the children. We stayed downstairs in my mothers house, sleeping in the shelter everynight. We made it very cosy with a battery light. I knitted clothes for the baby and we grew vegetables on the top of it.

I hadn't heard from my husband for about three or four months as his letters were being delayed. I later heard that he'd been injured, but was never told what actually happened. In the post one morning there were some tickets for me to go to a cinema in Green Lane at the back of Hyde Park. We sat there for about four hours watching as our loved ones appeared on the screen. My husband said, "Hello May and Linda; I'll be home soon". I tried to keep my daughter awake but she fell asleep just before he came on. I think it was done by the War Office to keep our spirits up.

Then I moved to Gosport for about a year and was there when the invasion started. We all baked cakes for the troops who were leaving. I got homesick and my mum needed us, so I went back to Bow.

The bombing got worst, with doodleugs and later the V2s. When the war ended everyones husband came home except mine. He was still on mine sweeping duties in Norway.

We were given a prefab in Bow and then we moved to Borehamwood where my husband worked at the Handley Page aircraft works. He also continued his boxing career. He had 80 professional fights; never being knocked out once.

Then we moved to Slough, where he worked at Ford's, until he retired.

(PK)

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.