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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Maddy Rhodes a volunteer with Radio Suffolk on behalf of Doris Turner and has been added to the site with her permission. Doris fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

A MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS IN DAGENHAM

Our home in Dagenham was bombed during the blitz.

My younger brother Ted and our mum had been evacuated to Wales. That Christmas – I can’t remember whether it was 1940 or ’41 – my dad had gone to visit them and that left me and my sister Violet at home. My sister’s fiance Les came to stay with us.

We’d gone to bed on the night of Christmas Day. My sister and I shared a bed downstairs. During the early hours of Boxing Day a land mine dropped in the gardens behind our house. We woke up to find glass all over the bed, but fortunately we weren’t injured. The windows had been blown out in the blast. Lots of people were hurt, but I can’t remember hearing about anyone being killed.

We decided to leave the house. My sister’s fiance thought we should go to his parents. They lived in Ilford. It was ever such a long walk! We left the house open to the elements and all I took was a pint of milk, a box of chocolate liqueurs I’d had as a Christmas present and the watch my fiance had given me. I don’t know why I took the milk – I suppose I thought we could at least have a cup of tea .

When we got to Ilford, Les’s people were in their shelter, and that’s where we spent Boxing Day before we walked home again.

Dad came home to a damaged house. The house was boarded up. We eventually got it straight and clean, and the council put in new windows.

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