Dad,Mum and me lived in Montholme Road,Clapham.We
had recently moved to the upper flat, the bottom flat being occupied by a newly married couple. We
were the proud possessors of a wireless, so when
the Prime Minister was due to broadcast to the nation in September 1939 the couple downstairs came up to listen. They sat on the sofa against the wall. I sat on one armchair and mum and dad sat on the other.
".......we are now at war with Germany" came the
solemn words from Mr.Chamberlain. Mum and dad hugged each other. The couple opposite went ashen grey, the young woman cried, the young man said nothing. As he got up from the sofa I could see a large wet stain where he had been sitting. "Oh,Cyril" the young woman cried and they
hurried off downstairs. It was neveer ever mentioned again.
I was five years old then and I remember the incident as if it were yesterday. Within four
years my dad had been killed in a bombing raid on Berlin and Cyril died when a "Doodlebug" (V1 Flying Bomb)landed somewhere in Docklands.
The hairs on the back of my neck still bristle
when I hear the sound of the air raid siren, even in movies.
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