大象传媒

I was three when war broke out in 1939 in Westcliff, Ramsgate. Our road joined on to the sea. My father was 34 at the time and joined the ARP. We were all evacuated to Staffordshire, and we were lucky enough to go with friends and family.
My mother, Lily, Known as "Billie" though was not happy. She wanted to look after and defend her own house. The worst problem was stopping Dad making jam and nearly exloding the house himself!
My Father was finally allowed in the RAF as an armourer, and he was stationed everywhere. It was actually more dangerous to be in Ramsgate-we had been told that the Germans would invade here. I was very scared-Germans were evil. I had a recurring nightmare that Hitler would one day come down through my trap door!
My mother kept a sense of normality for me. She was proud of our own aircraft-I would have to be quiet when one went over as she listened-"They're over!" she would say proudly as they flew very low overhead. We heard many planes crash and see big black bubble clouds. We used to go digging up parachutes on Pebble Bay afterwards to re-use. Shrapnel wouild be in our garden, and if I looked peaky after digging, I would be given 'Virol'-a mixture of cod liver oil and malt. I actually loved it and would steal more but most hated it! However I did really hate the macaroons my mother made out of potato-yuck!
After the war, I walked into my bathroom one day and found a man in there and ran out screaming! It was my father but I had not seen him for five years. I felt scared at the time but on reflection he must have felt terrible! At the very end of the war, I recieved a certificate from the King for my bravery. I didn't know what I had been brave about but I wish I still had it!

This story was submitted to the People's War website by Katherine Shannon of Cnaterbury Christ Church University from newlands School in Ramsgate, on behalf of Ms Pamela Brown, and has been added to the site with her permission. Ms Brown fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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