91热爆

The following is an excerpt from a group reminiscence session held at Ashford Library on 12/11/05. It is added to the site with the participants' permission.

I was only 5 when war broke out and I lived in London. We spent a year travelling around and then I was evacuated to Northampton with two other children about my age. We were sat round in the schoolhouse while we were picked 鈥� 鈥淚鈥檒l have this one and I鈥檒l have that one.鈥� I went out to the toilet and, when I came back, my two companions were being taken out the door. So I had to wait almost to the end, very upset at being on my own. But I was eventually taken in by a family. My mother came to Northampton about a month later and stayed in another village nearby, so I saw her quite often.

We came back in 1942 and found a house in Finsbury because my father was expected back on leave. But on the 5th of April, the people next door told us they had heard that his ship had gone down with all hands. After that we stayed with my aunt in Bournemouth. Then the Americans and Canadians came and they were very good to the children. They seemed to have an endless supply of food and they had parties with games and presents. One day I saw one of the Canadian soldiers who had looked after us at their party and my mother poked her head out of the window and shouted 鈥淕ot any gum, chum?鈥� If there had been a hole, I would gladly have disappeared into it! But he became a very good friend.

One day, my cousin and I were standing outside looking up at the planes in the sky and he realised that the bomb doors were opening and dragged me indoors. The bomb landed not far away and it rattled us but nothing more. Another time, my mother was out when the siren went, and we all went down into the table shelter. There was a tremendous 鈥榗rump鈥� which sounded very close 鈥� the bomb had dropped onto a house about 50 yards away. Just then, my mother rushed in the door - she had been machine gunned all the way up the road.

We had a big bay where we lived and, when D-Day came, I reckon you could walk out about a mile from the shore across the ships, deck to deck. They were there for 3 days and we never had any air raids during those days.

Memories contributed by Joan Riley and collected by Ashford Library Local Studies Service.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.