大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from CVS London Volunteers on behalf of Mr Boakes na has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Boakes fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

It was June 1944. I was 14 years old and working on an early morning paper-round for W>H>Smith in Streatham High rd. I got up at 6.30 a.m. to do the round before going to school. I walked my puppy with me to the end of the round and then carried him in the now empty paper bag. When we reached the top of Sunnyhill Rd. about 7.45 a.m. and was starting to go down the hill, I heard a Doodle Bug approaching from the direction of Streatham Common. I looked over the roofs of the houses and saw it approaching. At that point its engine cut out and it began to dive steeply towards my old primary school.
I dived behind a brick gate post - fell flat on my face - with my paper bag and puppy under me. There was a huge explosion 250 yards away. The ground lifted under me - at which point my frightened puppy escaped from the bag and ran away.
Down towards my old school were clouds of brick dust and smoke and the road was filled with broken glass and slates. My first reaction was to go and find the petrified puppy- who I put back in the bag. We made our way down past the school where there were people making their way towards the devastation at the back of the school and to the houses around. Fortunately none of the pupils had arrived.
At the top of Sunnyhill Rd some United Dairies staff came out - they had been cut by fling glass in their nearby depot.
Quickly I made my way to Wellfield Rd. where I knew my mother was waiting. As I turned the corner, she was waiting outside our flat. She greeted me with enormous relief.
This was just one of the 41 flying bombs
which fell on Streatham.
Sadly - the puppy never recovered from the shock and had fits and died two days later.

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