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I became 14 on the 17th September 1939 which is, in fact, just 2 weeks after war was declared. I was due to go back to school on the 4th September, but because of the war situation I didn’t go back to school.

After October I started looking for a job, and I found a job running a book stall for W.H Smiths at a railway station called Brent, which is a railway station just before Hendon in North West London. I worked there from 1939 to March 1940 when I started work as a G.P.O. Telegraph Messenger in London’s Mayfair; and I started work then on the 1st April 1940 - April Fool's Day (and I’d describe myself as having been one ever since.)

Now, I was based at a branch Post-Office at South Audley Street. That’s a street that runs parallel with Park Lane, and it runs into Curzon Street in the South end and Grosvenor Square in the North end.

Most of the messengers were aged between 14 and 17 and a half, and our delivery area was between Marble Arch, Park Lane, Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly, Berkeley Street, Berkeley Square, Davies Street and Oxford Street and back up to Park Lane.

Well, the first incident that I distinctly remember took place on the Saturday 7th September 1940. I remember the date pretty well. It was a Saturday afternoon, clear blue skies, I’d been dispatched to make a special delivery to an address in Sussex Gardens, which was outside our normal delivery area, off Bayswater road. After I had delivered the message, I was returning diagonally across Hyde Park, glancing up skyward — watching the dogfights and vapour trails and whatever, and suddenly I was startled by a battery of anti-aircraft guns sited behind me, and that was unknown to me (until that occurred) and following simultaneously at an angle, skyward, I took off almost at the speed the shells were making, and took off across the park to Park Lane in record time!

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Bill Kendall and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Bill's stories:

• A White-Faced Inspector
• Chipolatas and Chips
• Doody
• Given a bit of cheek
• High-Tailed it home
• I was BKFJ434
• ’Let him go and let him tarry’
• In a split second timing
• Oranges and Lemons
• Rotten Bananas
• Waste not, Want not
• It was coming straight for me
• Using more of my nine lives
• Tiny and Shiny
• Free post
• Time just came and went
• No. 1 London

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