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I was 8½ when the war started, living at East Cowes (Isle of Wight) with two older sisters and two younger brothers. Dad being an expert searchlight man had been called up long ago, he was already a company Sgt Major serving in Dorset. In the early days we had many heavy air raids on Saunders Roe Aircraft Works and Samuel White’s Shipyard. We watched the Battle of Britain from the best seats, cheering and/or booing when recognising friend or foe. We watched the Canadians train and leave for the disaster of Dieppe.

Out of the Frying Pan
In early 1943 we moved to London for family reasons. The main Blitz was over by this time but air raids were still common. We attended school as normal, occasionally going to the shelters. The carrying of gas masks was abandoned sometime during this period, whether by decree or mutual consent I do not know. As there was four of us of school age we had free milk and diminishing dinner money, first 2d per day, second 1d per day, third and fourth free. A Ha’penny would buy a hot crusty bread roll on the way. Sometimes dinner money would be spent at the bakers (bread was not rationed until after the war). For a long time we only attended school in the morning, boys and afternoon, girls and vice versa the next week, caused by a teacher shortage. Life carried on fairly normally, we went to the pictures, played out, travelled all over London, 1d (one penny) fare on the buses or tram.

War Phase Two
On the sixth of June 1944 the headmaster addressed us and said D-Day had happened and the war would soon be over. This upset us older boys as we could not wait to go and win the war. What we had not foreseen, was the Doodlebug or V1 Flying Bomb. We boys watched these nasty machines with interest waiting for the engine to cut out and the bomb tilt down on its path of destruction. With the innocence of youth we knew it would not fall on us. We still carried on as normal, the baker shop of the crusty rolls was destroyed, Lewisham Marks and Spencer too with great loss of life. Mother decided it was risky, so volunteered us to be evacuated.

Exodus
We gathered at a local school (Catford), not as the original waifs with gas mask and labels, but in family groups with mothers and as much personal belongings as we could carry. We headed north to Halifax. When we arrived in Halifax Mother and the younger ones (3) shared a house with another Mother with 2 children. I was billeted with a couple on the other side of town. Their two children were in the forces, one soldier, one ATS.
It has to be said that we were not made as welcome as the originals. Yorkshire in those days had a different culture, we could not understand the language, we got into trouble a lot. The word teenager had not been invented, I guess that’s what I was (13).

Back to the Frying Pan
After a short stay, at most 8 weeks, it was agreed there’s no place like home, so lock, stock and barrel we returned to the ‘smoke.’ What greeted us shortly after was the V2 rockets. These were not a problem, you could not hear or see them coming, but we survived of course, a lot of people did not. I left school two months after VE Day and started work at £1.25 per week, (50 hours at 6d an hour).

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