大象传媒

I was born 4th July 1934 having lived in Yeovil at the start of World War 2. We were not far away from Westlands Aircraft factory were munitions, Lysander and Swordfish planes were made. Yeovil was bombed and living in a boarding house we used to take in extra RAF personel to billet. One of my brothers had to deliver some goods to Westlands on the day of a raid he was heading on his bicycle in that direction the siren had gone but disregarding this he kept pedalling when someone shouted to him to take cover, to his supprise he saw a Messershmitt being followed by a Hurricane fighter, along the road it was heading toward the town and was intercepted.
My Mother thought it was too dangerous for the family so we left Yeovil and moved into the country to a village called West Camel only to find it was not far from the Royal Naval Air base at Yeovilton, Somerset.
I was about 9 years old when I witnessed a German Dornier Do 217K that had crashed at Camel Head not far from the village, which was still burning there was no one around to stop us having a look. I saw a tunic coat still hanging on part of the wreckage the pilot was killed and 3 taken prisoner,recently checked with Somerset at War. Most of my childhood years till the war ended was travelling gas mask and baggage from Somerset to Plymouth were the blitz was very bad as Devonport Dockyard was the key target. Travelling on the train the guard looking after the children to my sisters, who had two very small children her husband was in the Royal Navy and was at sea most of the time we would run to the air raid shelters the bombs would be dropping so close. One night the all clear had sounded, and we went home, 10 minutes later the sirens and we were off to the shelter again this night was a heavy raid we lost my neice only 11 weeks old out of the blanket as we were running, at the shelter a young man looked after me and my nephew as my sister ran back to find the baby on the pavement and take her to the hospital. On my sisters return to the shelter the young man left us only to be killed by falling masonry, the baby survived and is now 60 years old.

The ship my brother in law was assinged to was HMS Exeter which was torpedoded he was a survivor it had been on convoy with HMS Achillies and HMS Ajax following the German battleship The Graffe Spay
On VE Day great celebrations in Plymouth at night a 60 foot bonfires was lit made from deckchairs on Plymouth Hoe. Ships in the Sound lights blazing, fireworks, and sirens of happiness as the end of the War.

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