Memories of 1940

MEMORIES OF 1940

In 1940 I was a 17 year old G.P.O. telephonist, and as I was on late duty my Mother came with me to Ealing Broadway station to see me on my train, and she then went to the building society to pay the mortgage. Upon returning to Greenford, she went to the post office, where the assistant said “You don!t expect to be bombed whilst you’re working”. My Mother inquired where bombs had fallen, and was told “Avon Road is down to the ground !” Our address! Fast walking and running she came to the end of our road, only to be barred from entering by an A.R.P. warden. When she said what number she lived at, the warden said “ George go and tell Ernie to stop digging the lady is here”.
That night was spent sitting on a neighbour’s floor dozing, and being woken by the floor rising and dropping and plenty of noise! We found out the next day that an oil bomb had landed behind a house on the other side of the road. It didn’t catch fire but the smell of the oil was extremely unpleasant.
My Mother’s chief concern was for the cat that she had left indoors. There being no sound when my brother and I went round the back road to the house after two days --- there were unexploded bombs around; we were sure that the cat Peter was dead .The following day my parents went to look at the ruins and directly my mother spoke Peter meowed. It took 13 A.R.P. wardens to hold up the ruins while one slim lady crawled through and got him. He was unhurt, but held down by two bricks on his body. He lived on for several years.
A few weeks later my Father, who was in Buxton Derbyshire, evacuated with the Home Office; was sent to Bournemouth, so we were able to rent a house there until he was sent back to London in 1943 where we found ourselves in buzz bomb alley. We stayed there until our house was rebuilt after the war.

Thought you might find this interesting.

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