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There was bombing over London, and Aunty Glad saw a Jerry bomber go down which crashed at Victoria Station. Most of the bombs were falling on the east side of London, as the Jerries were flying from France and following the River Thames. The Jerries bombing us was now called 鈥楾he Blitz鈥� - German word meaning 鈥榣ightening鈥�. We lived at 18 The Green, East Acton: Mum (36), Beryl (10) Brian (me, 5) and new baby sister Jasmine. Dad was Sergeant Harry Brooks, on Searchlights.

There were more and more air raids at night, in fact I think every night. What must have been one of the very first ones showed the problems that all mums would face. I was fast asleep in bed when the siren sounded. As Aunty Audrey was helping me down the stairs my pyjama trousers fell down, which gave everyone a good laugh. Getting children up, dressed and moving was taking too long. There would have to be short-cuts.

鈥楯immy鈥� (school friend) and I heard that John Perryn School had been hit and that a bomb on a parachute was hanging down the end wall. We rushed there but the bomb had already been taken away. There were scrape marks down the wall and a lot of oil in a big puddle. The people who lived by the school told us that it was an oil bomb. What a swizz - Jerry couldn鈥檛 even hit a building as big as our school, so no holiday for us!

Another time we heard that the railway bridge on Old Oak Common Lane had been hit. We ran down after school but there was nothing going on. Walking under the bridge to the Scrubs side we saw that the pavement was cracked and there were bits of stone and dirt all around. Looking up we saw that part of the iron side of the bridge was busted, bent over and out as if a giant hammer had walloped it. Another bomb that hadn鈥檛 gone off. Someone at school lived on Carlisle Avenue and that had been hit.

One morning, after a night in the shelter, we found that a line of incendiary bombs had dropped across The Bye and The Green. All duds, they hadn鈥檛 exploded. We had one through our roof which went through the cupboard in the box room, then the stairs, and just missed the gas meter in the larder. We had another at the road end of the front garden. One was lying in the road outside; more were in the Allotments and gardens further round The Green.

Somebody from the ARP marked each one with a garden cane with some red material tied to the top. Looking out our front bedroom window you could see all the red bits, marking where the bomber had gone. They were all removed later by Bomb Disposal men. People said that Hitler鈥檚 bombs were made by slave labourers who left bits out to save us. Later someone gave us the green top part off an incendiary bomb as a souvenir. (It stood on our fireplace mantelpiece for many years) Usable bits from bombed houses were stored for repairs and we got two stair treads as ours were smashed.

BIG PIPES
One day Mum and I and baby, in a borrowed small pram, went to Ealing Broadway on the Underground from East Acton Station. We heard about people sheltering in the Underground which puzzled me because our Underground was up in the air! I helped Mum get the pram up the stairs. I liked the ride on the train, and at the station a big steam engine went past and the smoke blew all over us, smelling very sooty. A nice lady helped Mum up the very long stairs at Ealing Broadway.

It was very crowded outside, so to miss the main road we went across the green and down Springbridge Road, to get to 鈥楯ohn Sanders鈥� shop. But there was a big black pipe right across the end of the road, blocking it. Bombing usually broke the mains water pipes. Now they were re-laid on the surface as much as possible so they could be easily repaired. Luckily two friendly soldiers came along and lifted the pram and me over the pipe.

SHELTER LIFE
It was cold in the shelter, so Mum tried an idea from the newspaper, a candle inside a flower pot, with another flower pot on top. The flower pots got quite warm, and it was nice to put your hands on them. But you couldn鈥檛 always get enough candles. Mum also tried putting dead torch batteries in the oven to make them last longer, but it wasn鈥檛 very successful.

The night raids got noisier and noisier. Sometimes we would hear someone outside the shelter, then a shout of 鈥淥nly me, Doll鈥� (鈥楧oll鈥� or 鈥楧olly鈥� was my Mum鈥檚 family nick-name). It would be Mum鈥檚 sister Aunty Glad and baby Adrienne, and sometimes Aunty Audrey, too. I suppose trying to get four grown-ups and a baby into the larder under the stairs or under the table at Gran鈥檚 house (Ames family at Taylors Green) wasn鈥檛 very good, or very safe. (Gran wouldn鈥檛 have a shelter because it would ruin her small garden.) I liked it when we had more grown-ups in the shelter, I think Mum did, too. They would laugh and swap news and talk about work. I think my Mum missed her old work friends.

The crowded shelter would get very warm and smoky, the only light would be a candle (or later a small oil lamp) with a small mirror behind it, perched on the concrete ledge or chair under the door. The draught from a loud bang would blow the candle flame and make the shadows jump. The metal walls inside would become damp and shiny and reflect the yellow light. I don鈥檛 remember the babies, Jasmine and Adrienne, ever crying during noisy air raids, they seemed to sleep through just about anything. I could, too.

Grown-ups now worried about moonlight and talked about a 鈥楤ombers Moon鈥�. On clear moonlit nights Jerry bombers could easily see the Thames and their targets. Now people really wanted bad weather! All Grown-ups talked about two things: before the War and after the War. 鈥淏efore the War we used to 鈥︹�︹��. 鈥淎fter the War we can 鈥︹��.鈥�. I suppose it took their minds off the 鈥楴ow鈥� in the War. Oh yes, there was also a lot of talk about 鈥榞etting back to normal鈥�, whatever that was.

I looked forward to air raids in our shelter and staying up late. I now had a 鈥榮iren suit鈥�, made by Mum from an old coat from a jumble sale. It was a loose one-piece trouser-suit and hood with buttoned front. Awake or asleep I was stuffed into it and was ready for the shelter. It smelled a bit of moth balls. Mum had enough stuff left over to make a sort of bag with handles and hood for baby Jasmine. I now also had a cardboard 鈥榯in hat鈥�, it was shiny green with elastic to go under my chin. Now I was all ready for the Jerries!

Revised extracts from 鈥楢 Sheltered Childhood ~ Wartime Family Memories of an East Acton Child鈥�

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