- Contributed by听
- Researcher 239253
- People in story:听
- Barbara McNally
- Location of story:听
- Camberwell, London
- Article ID:听
- A1147682
- Contributed on:听
- 17 August 2003
I was born in July 1939 and was only weeks old at the outbreak of WWII. My father was a publican who had served from 1914 to 1918 in WWI and was too old to serve again. We were blasted out of our pub in Islington and moved to The Freemasons Arms in Camberwell. My aunt (fathers sister) lived in the upstairs flat and worked behind the bar.
I remember my mother taking me to the window to show me the strange plane going by, she didn't know what it was but it made an unusual noise which suddenly stopped. When the explosion came she threw herself over me to protect me.
My brother was born 2.5 years after me and our parents considered us too young to be evacuated..."we either all survive or we go together"
Dad used to do firewatching when the pub was closed for the night, either from the front step or the roof. The night the bomb dropped on us it fell on the front door step but luckily we were all asleep. We did not go the the shelter in the street as we had a cellar in the pub and beds were pushed togther so that all five of us could sleep down there. The bomb blew out the side walls and the building collapsed onto us. Luckily one or some of the girders in the roof of the cellar created a small space above us to stop us all being killed. My dad was the only casualty as the till from the bar above fell on his head and he was very bloody and unconscious.
I remember by mum and aunty both crying and praying and shouting for help. I thought I would help by pushing all this debris that was in front of me out of the way. That nearly brought the house down, literally.
I don't know how long we were down there but eventually the emergency services heard our shouts and we were pulled out more or less feet first and put in the shelter in the street. I remember looking out of the shelter door as my dad was taken away in an ambulance. The road seemed to be very bright and wet and busy with people running around and hoses and vehicles and dust everywhere. We were very lucky to have survived, many were killed by that bomb.
We went to someones house for a cup of tea and the WVS found us some clothes to wear. The lady in the house was very surprised when mum combed all the dust out of her hair, she thought mum was an elderly woman with grey hair.
We stayed for a while with relatives then mum, brother and I went to Redruth in Cornwall to stay in another pub with a publican friends who kindly found room for us away from the bombing.
Dad never had another pub but did the 'knowledge' to become a taxi cab driver. He always said it was even harder at this time because as he cycled around learning the whereabouts of places they disappeared after another nights bombing. As fast as he learnt them Hitler knocked them down.
Other random memories of that time.......
There was a barrage ballon in the local park which we called George.
While we were staying with relatives I remember we used to go under the stairs if the siren went. I got left behind one day and was at the top of the stairs laying flat as ordered when the bomb dropped. The front door glass was broken and the ceiling came down and ruined the dinners on the table.
Out with mum and baby brother and the siren went. We ran to a shelter but I was too slow again and a man picked me up and ran with me, but there was a yound lady in the street who could only duck into a doorway and I think she got hurt as she was crying when the all clear came.
漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.
Recommended story
Story with photo