大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/大象传媒 Radio Nottingham on behalf of Patricia Thompson with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

This is a composite picture of life for a small child 1939-45. I was 4 when war broke out and I can remember that Sunday. My father, mother and twin sister were staying with me at a farm near Petworth and that morning my father wished to attend Church in Petworth. We all drove in in the Morris 8. While he was in church we had ice cream in the small town square.

He emerged very solemn from Church. We returned the next day to Kingscere, not a long journey but we passed many troops exercising.

My father volunteered to serve but at 57, and having been in the army in World War I, his offer was turned down. He spent the war helping organise a NAAFI canteen in the village as it became a transit stop for troops on the way to South coast ports. He also had his fair share of pastoral work, ministering to the bereaved.

The village had evacuees from Portsmouth and Southampton who found it difficult to fit into village life. We had 'paying guests' some fitted in, others disrupted life. Initially my sister and I were educated at home then had to share lessons with an Admiral's family, before they were sent abroad. Then we went to the excellent village school.

The main event I recall is of my father being called out during the night. There had been a pistol fight between Americans whowere living at the local racing stables. This was a racially inspired fight after repressive treatment of the blacks by white superiors. There were fatalities including the wife of the Local Publican who was killed by a stray bullet. I believe several men were executed after Court's Martial. The next morning we walked to school, close to the scene. There was an eerie calm around the area.

The Americans had tried to offer something to the village, including Christmas dinner for the children. We could not cope with the full plates of rich food - pudding and meat on the same plates!

The village was not much affected by raids, although there became more of a risk after the expansion of the Greenham Common as an Air base. I do remember the false alarm of an invasion when the Church bells rang out - my father went to investigate as we were kept in his wooden- shuttered study. We had no air-raid shelter.

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