The night I dodged bombs in my vest!

ReMInISCenCeS about raF northolt (Peterborough) have brought back memories. during the war, we lived in Frogmore avenue, to the north of Hayes in West London. Mum worked in the Fairey aviation factory, making parts for the Swordfish torpedo plane and Battle light bomber. We did not have a shelter, but Mum would herd us around to the rogers’s house, because they had an anderson shelter in the back garden. One night, I was chased out of bed as the sirens were going, and wearing only a vest, because it was hot, I ran round there without shoes. The rogers family laughed when we arrived. another time, the shelter was flooded, but they passed us hand to hand over the water and laid us on the bunks. Later we got a Morrison indoor shelter, which we slept in every night. We would sit on the back doorstep, watching the fires in London, and saw night fighters that went from northolt to join the battle. as the German planes and explosions got nearer, Mum would shut the door and we would withdraw to the shelter, but sleeping was difficult. a group of us boys would go to northolt and crawl through the bushes up to the wire fencing to watch what went on, until the security men chased us away. Often, we saw the Spitfires go off, knowing there had been an alarm over London. They were flown by Czechs and Poles. One day, I was out in the road, when the ack-ack battery in the next street opened up. a flight of German dorniers came over very low, machinegunning the streets. a passing man knocked me over a garden wall to safety. We would tour the streets picking up shrapnel. Sometimes it was still hot. On another occasion, Mum took us to the pictures at a cinema near Southall. as we came out, there was an air raid on and a man shouted: ‘Get those kids off the street!’ Mum got us into a cafe and we had cocoa and sandwiches. They had marmalade in them and I have never liked marmalade since.

Michael Wilson, rugby, Warks.