大象传媒

The Blackout and bombs
No street lights. All windows had to be blacked out with thick curtains and there mustn't be even a streak of light coming through or the wardens would come and tell you to close your curtains properly or turn off the light.
I rememeber a huge gun, which was in Richmond park, which we called Big Bertha. When it was fired, the houses all around including ours shook...very frightening.
An unexploded bomb landed in Elm Road, East Sheen and the houses were evacuated. When this happened, dad decided we should go back to Northamptonshire were we had a lot of family connections.

Lots of Schools
We lived in Dorking in Surrey in 1931. We moved to Manchester in 1934 as my dad was working there and I started school.
The day war was declared my mother took my baby brother and I by train to Northamptonshire. The train was in complete darkness which was very frightening for a seven year old.
We stayed with an Aunt and Uncle in Rothwell for about a month because everybody thought that London would be bombed flat immediately, but of course it wasn't. I had to go to a small country school in Rothwell, but in 1938 we went back to my primary school in Sutherland Gardens, East Sheen.
In 1940 we (mum, my brother and I) then went to Finedon in Northamptonshire to stay with Uncle Chris and Aunt Alice where I went to school in Wellingborough until my dad bought a house in Federation Avenue, Desborough and I had to change schools again to kettering.
All these changes did not help my education.

I remember one day coming home from school after sports day and I had lost my liberty bodice. With clothing being rationed it was a serious event so my mother went to the local police station to see if it had been handed in, but of course it hadn't.

Family Life - and spies
Whilst in East Sheen, we lived opposite to the day nursery, so at night we were able to use their air raid shelter and I slept in a cot,which was a little small for a seven year old and my baby brother slept in his pram. Whilst we were in the air raid shelter my dad often went back to ensure the house was all right and several times he found two neighbours wandering through our garden. Eventually they were arrested and imprisoned for spying. They had been crossing through our garden to get to a hording next to our home, where they were signalling to the enemy.

My grandparents came to live with us in Desborough and Grandpa was very strict. He did not like me playing with the deck chairs as during the war they were not replaceable, but that did not stop me playing with them. Grandpa threatened to smack me so I ran down the roads and managed to get well in front of him and ran indoors. I ran up the stairs and grandma stood at the bottom, which was funny as she was a tiny little sole and he was a big man, but she stopped him coming anywhere near me.

My family were strict churchgoers and the local priest joined the Forces, but a teacher from London had taken over the role of minister for the complete area. Although my father was only able to come down at weekends, the priest persuaded him to become a lay reader. This meant that my dad could take evensong and matins at some of the little villages, thereby helping the vicar. I used to go with my dad on our bikes through the American Air Bases, passed all the lines of bombs, another strong memory, and I used to pump the church organ.

We lived on the edge of Desborough and my bedroom overlooked a hill. One night I woke to find my bedroom was full of light and I reaslised that a plane was on fire, but bravely the pilot managed to clear the houses and went straight in to the hill. They had great difficulty finding his body as it had been blown to bits all over the field. Although we were not in London or one of the major cities, with the American Airbases and Airdromes in the area, we were still not safe, but I cannot remember being bombed.

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