A Fascination with Flight and a Lucky Escape!

Early on in the war, my mother and I temporarily went to stay with my grandmother's boarding house in Torquay to escape the constant bombing in Plymouth. I went to a local school which involved walking along a road overlooking Torquay Harbour.

One morning on the way to school on the road overlooking the harbour, I heard aero engines and I looked over the wall and spotted 2 black planes with crosses on their wings, stealing across Torbay. German aircraft frequently carried out nuisance attacks on our industrial targets.

Anyway, being a keen aircraft enthusiast, I continued watching with interest as the planes approached the harbour and opened fire as they pulled up over the harbour. A man walking nearby grabbed me and pulled me down behind the wall, much to my annoyance. It was then we heard the bullets above us zinginy through the trees. It was all over in seconds and the man got up and left before I could thank him. I then carried on to school. Safe, but still fascinated by aircraft.

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