大象传媒

This story has been written onto the 大象传媒 Peoples War site by CSV Storygatherer Alison Lear on behalf of John Chadwick. The story has been added to the site with his permission. And John Chadwick fully understands the terms and conditions of the site.

Continued from part 1 - Story A4849194 - " A sheltered existence".

I went to 16 different schools during the war years. In 1942 I was 12 years old. While at Eltham Hill Girls school we had just had our school dinner and were outside in the playground when 6 aircraft started circling our heads. The pilots were waving to the children but unfortunately these were German aircraft and we all scattered and they flew away. Two minutes later we heard a loud bang and a big cloud of smoke appeared on the skyline over at Catford. We found out afterwards that the Germans had bombed another school used by the Auxiliary Fire Service and Heavy Rescue vehicles which were painted battleship grey. The Germans took these to be legitimate targets and dropped bombs on the school, killing hundreds of children. Ever since then a local newspaper has published an obituary column naming all the chuldren in detail on the anniversary of the incident.

In 1943, after a spell at Haimo Road school where I was a milk monitor, I was attending yet another school, Earldham Square school. After dinner one wet day I was standing half under shelter in the playground when a lady asked me why I wasn't wearing my big coat. I told her that my mother was repairing it and that I only had one coat. The lady said she had a nice overcoat which she would be pleased to give me if my mother agreed. My mother wrote her a letter thanking her and I was duly presented with a fine blue Melton overcoat which the lady said had belonged to her son Francis who was in the Army and who would no longer be needing it. I wore the coat with pride and never got to thank her son personally, the famous comedian Frankie Howard!

Concluded in Part 3 - Story A4852415
"Doodlebugs"

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