Germany or mouse: Overun by Mice and Slugs

During the war my husband was stationed on the Isle of Sheppie at a place called Queensbuorough When he was able to come to ashore from his boat he was in charge of a Motor torpedo boat the base was called the Kore and I was living in a dreadful place near him so that when he had time off he could join me. The place was over run with mice and I hate mice I was only around 20 and recently married. At the end of a few hours off one day I refused to stay there with the mice, and as he had to report for duty he took me down to the pier wondering what to do with me. One of his seamen suggested that they dress me in oilskins and souwester so that I would be disguised as a man from the look out tower, which was often occupied by the Admiral. At the time the Germans were dropping mines by parachute but I was less afraid of the Germans and their bombs than I was of the mice.

During the war they used the bridge arches under Richmond Bridge as bomb shelters during the time of the doodlebugs. I had to go down to them each night as I had a young child which I hated as they flooded at high tide. As a result there was large sea slugs. One night after sitting watching for the slugs (not the Germans) I must have fallen asleep and woke to find one of these horrid creatures on the back of my neck. I screamed so loud that I woke everyone up they thought the Germans had landed. There was an American solider who jumped up ready to fight.
There was one officer that used to arrive with his pyjamas and change into his nightclothes, hang his uniform up and go to bed and sleep even with the slugs.

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