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Sally Lyndon — Interview about WW2 memories

Bombed

I was living in Forest Gate (East London) at the time and Sam (my husband) was off duty from the Fire Brigade so he was at home with our daughter Sandra who was still a baby. We could see the german planes dropping incendiary flares over the East End and we knew that this meant that there was going to be a heavy bombing raid. However we still decided not to go to the Air Raid Shelter and instead went upstairs to bed. Shortly afterwards there was an almighty explosion and the roof collapsed. Sam dived on top of me to protect me and we could hear my mother in law screaming ‘They’re dead, they’re dead!’ I replied ‘Don’t worry mother, we are alright’ and then we realised that Sandra was screaming. Luckily the blast had blown the pram over and the baby was underneath being shielded from the debris. The next morning we found out that the explosion had been caused by a landmine that had been dropped near by and had blown the paving stones into the bedroom.

Dogfight

The scariest moment of the war was when I was visiting my parents in Finchley (North London). I was pushing my daughter Sandra in her pram when overhead I could see two planes in a dogfight (aerial combat probably between RAF spitfires or hurricanes and messerschmitt fighter planes). The planes were so close that you could hear the rattle of their machine guns and it really brought the war close to home.

‘You got used to everything’

You got used to everything, it became a way if life and you lost your fear. We would go to the cinema and if there was an air raid a message would be flashed across the screen. If people wanted to they could go to the shelter but most of them just stayed where they were. When people used to visit you they had to bring their rations with them, there wasn’t enough to go around. I remember hearing the rumours going round that ‘there was fish in’ or that some bananas had arrived and then everyone rushed off with their coupons.

Fireman Sam

In 1938 my husband Sam joined the London Fire Brigade and eventually reached the rank of Leading Fire Officer. He was stationed in the City (of London) and ended up at Barts Close Fire Station near to St Bartholemews Hospital. In 1940 at the height of the Blitz, St Paul’s Cathedral was heavily bombed (although the building itself was not damaged). Sam’s crew were one of the first to reach St Paul’s and spent many hours putting out the huge firestorm that had been caused by the incendiary bombs that were dropped by the German bombers.

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