Recollections of a schoolboy during the 40s. ww2 era.

During the 1940s. I was a schoolboy living in South London, I was originally living in Trafalgar Avenue off the Old Kent Road, near to the Grand Surrey Canal. In 1941 Hitler decided to move us by landing a mine on our house. Nobody to my knowledge was killed but a few injuries were sustained, all the surrounding properties were badly damaged and the residents, mainly of the Hatton family were moved away to various parts of London and some to Windsor and Cheam in Surrey. At this time my Father was in the Fire Service based at the Old Kent Road Fire Station and at times when required,local schools that were used for Sub Fire Stations. As many children from London were evacuated at this time there was not many of us about and we were the unofficial mascots of whichever fire Station Dad was servingat the time, we were spoilt to a certain degree, the Firemen made us toys and had various parties and put on shows to which we were invited.
After the bombing we were moved to Arbuthnot Road at New Cross. Whilst living there we had a few narrow escapes. My two Sisters, Pat and Sylvia and myself had to go to Childerec Road School the school had no facilities for dinners so at dinner time we had to go to Goldsmiths College at the Marquis of Granby for our dinners, this was at the top of Clifton Rise. One dinner time a friend and I who were lagging behind our sisters, as we thought it cissy to walk with the girls, had just reached the top of Clifton Rise when a Luftwaffe Plane came along New Cross Road with guns firing, as the Girls were out the way my friend and I just stood there mesmerised, an Irishman from the nearby Pub came out grabbed my friend and I and dived down the steps of the underground toilets, known to us as `The Hole in The Road`, we were bruised and crying but he saved our lives. We never knew his name but I`m sure that our parents would have brought him a few bottles of the `Black Liquid` if they found him.
During these war days we as children, especially the boys were always looking for trophies, if that what you you would call them, pieces of shrapnel bullets,fins from incendiary bombs and sometimes the bomb itself, that had failed to explode. we were now going to Waller Road School which was nearer and we did not have to cross the dangerous New Cross Road. Waller Road was not to bad because on many occasions we had no Teachers so we played and also gave us boys time to rake around for any more relics from the Air Raids, us boys did not know what danger was until it directly involved us.
In Spring 1944 our parents moved to another house in Drakefell Road, on the Borders of Brockley and New Cross, us children thought it was wonderful as it was an end house with a side entrance into the Park. At this period we were getting a pasting from V1s., Doodlebugs or Flying bombs. These were Hitlers Vengance weapons which he started throwing at us in South London on 13th. June 1944. On the night of 22nd. June, my sisters and I were sleeping in the Anderson shelter in the garden, Mum,Dad and baby Geoff were sleeping in toe house under a heavy mahogany dining table, apart from a few air raids during the night we slept quiet well. At 0650hrs on 23rd. June 1944. a V1. came down about 15 th 20 yds. from where we were in the shelter, luck was on our side as we were not badly injured and Mum,Dad and baby were relatively unscathed.As the houses in this part of Drakefell Road were near to St. Catherines Church at the top of Pepys Road the Vicar came to see what he could do and being about the first person on the scene who was not suffering from shock started to dig people out of the rubble and organise other helpers who were arriving into little gangs to assist, he dug us out from the shelter and helped to get Mum,Dad and Geoff from the house. For these actions he was awarded the GEORGE MEDAL. One of our old neighbours from Arbuthnot Road, Bertie Hope, was on his way through the park to work for a builder when he came across us sitting in the rubble of what was our house receiving first aid treatment, he ran back to Arbuthnot Road to tell our old neighbours and friends of our bombing and within a short while we were surrounded by our old friends helping us out, the women sorting out Mum and the children and the Men trying to salvage what they could of our home, Bertie Hope arrived with a builders hand cart and within a short time they were all going through the Park like a column of ants with our belongings to our old house that was empty. I do not know how they got in but it was welcome and a good gesture from `Old Friends`
Later in 1944 came the V2. rockets they were frightening, you were lucky when you heard the bang as they travelled at supersonic speeds from their launch sites in northern France in a matter of a few minutes, you heard the bang then the sonic boom, many poor souls never heard the bang or boom. On saturday mornings it was my job to get in a queue outside Kennedys` in New Cross Road to get some sausages that were very tasty later in the morning Pat and Sylvia would relieve me in the queue. Saturday 25th. Novembr was no exception, I had been relieved in the queue I went to Woolworths to get a drink of lemonade before going home, I had just come out of Woolworths and as the road was clear I crossed straight over, I had just reached the other side when I was blown through the fence of Pearce Signs which was opposite, again crying my eyes out and not badly hurt I noticed that Woolworths and the CO-OP had vanished in a great cloud of choking dust. People were all over the place, in the road, in cars and lorries and busses and trams, it can only be described as HELL. My Father was doing some work in a Cobblers shop near Lawrie Grove andmy Mother was having her hair done in the Hairdressers opposite the Habbredashers Askes Girls School, knowing that my sisters and I were in the vicinity of Woolworths, me sometimes in Woolworths and my sisters about 50-75yds away from where the rocket had landed they came from two directions trying to find us, my sisters were soon found unscathed but it was a while until I was located in Pearce Signs, I saw them but I could not call out to them and I could not cross back over the road due to utter chaos I had lost the ability to talk the rescuers were wondering who I was. Speech soon returned and I have not stopped talking since then.
25th. November 1944.,V2 attack 1235hrs. Woolworths, New Cross Road. 168 killed,hundreds injured, 122 serious.
Worst V2. attack on London.
Robert George HATTON. Known as Robin

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