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Peter鈥檚 memories in Northfleet

This story was submitted to the Peoples War site by Ryan from Dover Road school and has been added to the website on behalf of Peter Rowden his with permission and fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

At just 10 years old Peter remembers the Anderson shelters arriving in Gwynn Road, Northfleet where he lived with his parents and two brothers Ron, 12, and Derek, 7. We all went to school at Dover Road C.P. Primary.
All his family helped dig the hole to assemble the shelter in. All the hundred feet elm trees near Pepper Hill were taken down so the air craft (Spitfires) wouldn鈥檛 hit them. A bomb dropped near Peter in Hall Road and a landmine dropped in Colyer road and moved 3 houses off the foundations which was then demolished. One Anderson shelter, in Hall Road, was buried 25 feet underground killing 1 young girl. During the night time the army bought out Bofor guns to fire at enemy planes. The bangs were very loud. One morning Peter was waiting for his friend Jimmy Weeks and he didn鈥檛 turn up and in assembly Peter found out that he was killed in an air raid in Preston road. About this time Peter was moving to Colyer Road School. Peter was looking forward to the schools workshops but they were bombed by incendarys and destroyed the lot, the Colyer Road Girls School was all so hit which blow the wall of the school. A field opposite Colyer Road had a barrage balloon in it and a Doodlebug hit the cable holding it up and turned 15 degrees and flew off to London. At school Peter was being taught that light travelled quicker than sound it was proved that it was true when a Doodlebug cut out over Peter鈥檚 house and landed in a field by Peters house a could of dust came up then a giant flash and lastly a loud BOOM pushed Peter backwards. A German bomber was caught in the search lights over New Barn and was shot down by gunfire in New Barn. In 1943 I left school at the age of 14 and he went to work at Bowater鈥檚 making munitions they manufactured Bofor guns and Triple oerlican guns which were mounted in coal railway wagons. The factory was bombed twice during the war. Next door to Bowater鈥檚 in Crete Hall road was Red Lion Wharf and Peter saw two Mulberry harbours built using concrete ready for the D Day launch. The River Thames had masses of small boats at this time. 5 minutes after a V2 rocket dropped in Swanscombe, Bowater鈥檚 yard had a massive shower of what look like leaves falling from the sky but it was actually pieces of aluminium shrapnel from the V2 rocket. I used to collect these pieces and take them to Ivor the blacksmith at Bowater鈥檚. The blacksmith melted them down and us aluminium moulds from which we made cigarette lighters.
My brothers and I all later joined the Royal Air Force, Ron was with 614 sqdn and I was with 61/62 Reserve Commd Instrumentation.

THE END.

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