We slept our nights at the beginning of the war in the large employees' shelter behind the Labour Exchange, where my Dad firewatched.  We were in that shelter the night the bomb hit Henry Haysom's furniture store [13 October 1940¹].

I slept like a log (still do) and my parents woke me up to show me what had happened.  Later I was told I looked through the shelter door, said something like, "Wow, what a blaze!" - and immediately went back to my bunk.  I was quickly re-awakened as Dad realized if the fire attracted more bombers we were too close to the scene.

We scurried out to North Street, through the Golden Lion yard and thence along the High Street.  We turned into Linden Street off Mawney Road and so to Como Street and Brooklands Road.   There was always a letter (Pillar) box at the corner of Brooklands and Marshalls Roads.  As we got to that corner, we heard bombers (no doubt He-111’s from the engine noise) and bombs started to drop again.  We threw ourselves up against a brick garden wall right there, and waited for the inevitable.

Luckily the line of bombs headed away to the north-east and away from us.  Our goal was to reach the home of the Pagnells, who lived at the far end of Brooklands Road, about two or three houses from the old Romford Football Club field.  Their property went right through to Medora Road and they had an Anderson shelter in their garden.  My older siblings were both in high school and slept at the Pagnell’s house as they had lots of homework and quick access to the shelter if needed.

When the night visitors flew away we picked ourselves up and proceeded to the shelter.   We must have told our hosts what had taken place.  The ‘pictures’ in my mind are still vivid but I am sure fragments apart from those memories are filled in with later comments by my parents and postwar reading.  I do recall seeing the St. Edward’s Church steeple standing like a white monument reflecting the firelight.   I do recall seeing the burned out alms houses the next day.  For months the skeleton of the furniture store stood by itself.  Of course, it was the largest fire I had ever seen in my life so that left an indelible impression.

I also remember thinking in later years, how undignified for my Mother to have to lie on the pavement at her age.  Silly though, when self-preservation was the uppermost thought.

Geoffrey Styles, June 2001.

¹ Hitler v Havering, page 169.