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Ever since I was a young boy I have been interested in what daily life in Britain was like during the war.

My parents moved from Naples Italy to St Albans in August 1957. After the war ended Naples was left in ruin having suffered from sustained & unrelenting bombing. The Italian government did very little to facilitate the war damage recovery. Life is Southern Italy was becoming embittered and the people disillusioned. There was a massive exodus to escape the poverty, the lack of employment and the inevitable crime-wave wave that ensues when people become so desperate. They left in their thousands to other countries, especially Britain.

In Britain there was no hesitation in its rebuilding programme. After the war Britain embarked on a massive programme of building complete new towns. By the time my parents arrived in Britain in 1957, 15 new ‘Garden City’ towns were already on the drawing board. These new towns were to re-house some of the 1.4 million Londoners who’s homes were destroyed during The Blitz. This massive building project meant that The Brick Industry in places like Bedford needed thousands of workers and most of the people from Naples ended up here. My dad, however, always one to be a bit different was offered a job in Pasta Foods in St Albans, exporting pasta to Italy!

The way the British had had acted in the war won great respect from Italians. It was the British sense of humanity and fair play that made my parents decide to emigrate here and take 5 children with them. I was 4 at the time. My parents used to tell me all the stories about the war, not so much about the horrors of war but more often humorous anecdotes and about the hardship and poverty.

Ever since I was a child I listened to the stories that my parents told me about the harsh life under German occupation I have wondered about how life must have been here in war time Britain. My job put me in contact with many elderly people who lived in St Albans during the war. Their stories of endurance and comradeship were both interesting and fascinating. St Albans lies 20 miles north of London. Due to the proximity of London & The Aircraft industry in the area, St Albans did have their share of air raids. I remember as a child we would see rows of houses then a gap. We were told these gaps were the results of bombing raids.

I would love to hear from anyone who can verify the bombs that hits St Albans, especially the bombs that landed in King Harry Lane, Windridge Farm, Ramsbury Road, Verulam Golf Course, London Road, Camp Allotments, Park Street Lane, Fleetville, Harpenden Road, Hedges Farm, Verulamium Playing Fields, The Sewage Works, Park Street, Camp Road, Althorpe Road, Avenue Road, Beaumont Avenue, Bluehouse Hill, Verulamium Hypocaust, The Causeway, Prospect Road, Cotton Mill Allotments, The Watercress Beds ,Park Street ,Hill End, Abbey Hill House And Bell Meadow.

Despite these bombings we were lucky compared to other parts of Britain, in fact St Albans was designated as a ‘reception area.’ Some 6,000 London evacuees were brought here. Most arrived by train to be met by the WVS who took them to the distribution centres to be homed.

My interest in WW2 is not so much about the destructive might of the messerschmitts, Junkers & Stukas, but much more about the endurance and fortitude of the people. Despite my personal feelings about the destructive uselessness and futility of war, I realise that in WW2 there was little if no choice.

Email ww2@cirillo.org