大象传媒

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

During the war I lived with my parents and my sister in Kent on the outskirts of London. I travelled into London every day to work in an big office.
My father, Joseph Ennerver, was recruited to the ARP. (Air Raid Precaution) He never spoke about his work at home, but we learnt about what he did indirectly. He didn't tell his family because he wanted to protect us from the horrors which he witnessed. He used to rescue people after air raids.
One night Lewisham Market was bombed. It was carnage! The rescue workers, including my father were heros. A horse was blown up completely in the market and many people died. We lived quite close to the market.
One night my father went to rescue a family from their Anderson shelter. When he arrived the little family were sitting there motionless, dead. They had all been killed by the blast from the bomb. Again, my father did not tell us this, we learnt about it from someone who knew him. We did know that he had witnessed a shocking incident that night, because we all noticed that he aged dramatically and went grey almost overnight. He was a hansome man and well liked, but he changed from after this incident and became quieter.
My Brother-in Law, Sidney Fry, was a hero too. He lost a leg when in a Lancaster Bomber when one of its own cannons went off. The pilot managed to bring them back safely to their own airfield. My Brother-in-Law got the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal as he put the fire out on the plane. He wouldn't talk much about it. When we went out with him, he was treated like a hero. Women gave him packets of cigarettes. They were grateful for his sacrifice. He was a modest man, who was embarrassed by the attention. He had a conscience about what he had to do when he flew to Germany and had nightmares about it.

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