Concert in the Blitz

I was in my late teens when war broke out. As we were a very musical family we often went to the Promendade concerts at the Queen's Hall in London. On one occasion we went when Moisevitch, the great pianist, was the soloist. Half way through the concert the siren went, and we, the audience, were told we could stay until the all-clear but if we left we could not come back again. We decided to stay and, after the concert finished we were entertained by members of the audience who bravely went up to the platform to display their amateur talents. At one point Moisevitch came on, but only to turn over the pages of music for someone else! We were so disappointed! The all-clear finally went at about 3 a.m. and when we left the hall the night sky was ablaze with the reflections of the fires that were raging at the Docks. It was one of the worst raids on London.

When we finally got back home we were welcomed with enormous relief by my anxious mother. We felt so lucky to be alive.

Mary Smith.

(Later in the war the lovely Queen's Hall was razed to the ground by a direct hit).

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