大象传媒

I lived in Abbey Wood, its about 2-3 miles from Woolwich Arsenal. I was born in 1938 and the Battle of Britain started 10 July 1940, the day my sister was born. That day, a bomb fell 30 yards from my house and blew the side of the house out next door to us and cracked our house in half. I was tossed out of bed. I wasn't quite two then, but I remember that.

When the German bombers came over I was so scared - my heart was beating. Hiding under the bedclothes, I was terrified. That cast a shadow over the rest of my life. I felt completely isolated. Many years later when I was working as a civil engineer and blasting some rock to build a bypass, all these fearful memories came back to me. It truly blighted my life.

When the bomb went bang it was a terrific bang and then it seemed to be quiet. That's how my life's been.

There was Radar station and a gun battery, about a mile away. They were firing at the Luftwaffe as it came up the Thames to bomb any buildings or any air fields, that sort of thing. There was an RAF station with barrage balloons about 500 yards away. Of course the Germans were trying to knock that out. We were in the thick of things.

We were evacuated in February 1941 to a place called Lickey End (Worcestershire). I only remember the name because my mother said Lickey End seemed a very unusual name. We went away one day in a steam train and my sister was crying my mother tells me (I don't remember). When we got to Lickey End, my sister went to a hospital there as an emergency. A day later she died of meningitis. There was an outbreak of meningitis at the time.

Following 2-3 days in Lickey End, our family (including Dad who came up from Woolwich) went to Keithley in Yorkshire, where both my parents came from. We stayed with family, but my uncle kicked my older brother under the table (the story was told over the years) and I think I was abused also. I felt completely isolated and it blighted my life.

There was no continuity to life.We only stayed a day or two in Keithley then came home. We'd sooner face the bombs than the family.

We came back to London and stayed together as a family. My father worked as a Sanitary Inspector and issued Ration Books from the local public house following bombing raifds when people had lost all their possessions. He also helped the police over black market racketeering. I remember, towards the end of the war, the doodlebugs and V1s coming over. They were aimed at London and the WOolwich Arsenal, where munitions were made and stored. There were always sorties coming up for the Arsenal.

I do remember going to school and singing 'ten green bottles'. The fire brigade kept their vehicles in the playground and also a pig pen with about 20 white pigs. They were the cleanest pigs I've ever seen. They were hosed out every day. I used to talk to them - they were very intelligent.

The V2 rocket came towards the end of the war. You got a double bang - pressure waves from going through the sound barrier. They'd hit the ground first, with no warning, then they'd explode and you'd hear the light from the explosion and then you'd hear the sonic boom.

I was looking out of the lounge in my house and I said to my mother 'what is that steel post doing there?' and she said 'It's a lamp-post son.' And then she said 'when the lamp comes on the war will be over'. And one day I looked out and the lamp was on.

this story was entered onto the People's War website with the assistance of Jenni Waugh, 大象传媒 Outreach Officer. Mr Hoines is aware of the site's terms & conditions.

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