|
|
||
Like others, I remember bombs but nothing very near us [Crichton Gardens / Crow Lane]. The dogfights over Hornchurch are still vivid memories as we stood on the top of our shelter to watch them. We kept chickens and rabbits on the lawn and the shelter was covered in rabbit hutches to save space I suppose. When a bomb went off and we were in the shelter the rabbits used to leap up and down with fright.
Since Crow Lane is parallel with the railway we had our share of fighters strafing trains. One morning I went out of the front door to school and saw a Messerschmitt coming up the road at zero feet with guns blazing. (I went back in!) The trains would stop near us in air raids at night since the engine could go under Whalebone Lane bridge to prevent the light from the firebox being seen.
We went to school at Becontree Heath and if a raid occurred on our way we would dive into the ditches alongside the road (the nettles gave us war wounds!). As we got past D Day, Whalebone Lane was a major route for supplies going to the docks for shipping to France and the convoys were endless. Sometimes we could not get to school because they would not stop long convoys of vehicles to let pedestrians cross.
Like others, we treasured pieces of shrapnel. The butterfly bombs were interesting. They came down in their hundreds on little parachutes and sometimes in the morning they were hanging in the trees until they were disposed of.
I cannot recall that we were frightened. I suppose, being born in 1938, I could not remember pre-war and this chaos was normal. Our parents must have done a brilliant job appearing to stay calm when they must have been in turmoil most of the time.
Roy Woolley, March 2001.
|
|
Home |
What's New |
FAQ |
Contact Me |
Preferences
| Copyright |
|
