Mum and WW2

My mother, Mrs Ansuya Jasani, also more known as "Anu," recently, while watching the D - Day celebrations on the TV, that she remembered, though vaguely, the time when the war broke out she was only five. As a child. she was very scared at night, after putting up the "Black curtians" for the purpose of ensuring that lights could not be seen during "Blackouts" and "air raids," whicch took place almost every night with German bombers flying from various aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean. Tanzania, a previous German colony, was under British control as it was handed over by the League Nations.

As the building in which she lived was the tallest and which also was located fairly near the harbour in the port city of Dar Es Salaam, the soldiers put up "anti - aircraft guns" on the flat roof tops. If any were caught with lights one or not putting up the "Black curtains" during an air raid, they were dealt with harshly by the wardens. In the evenings, when the soldiers went up on to the rooftops, my grandfather, always made sure that my grandmother, prepared some tea for them as they would remain there throughout the night. He did this, not just because he respected the soldiers, but also as he felt that they were there to defend them and that he always wanted to make sure that they were okay. At the same time, when there was a "Blackout," the children would be quite scared as they could see nothing but hear nothing but the "ack ack" of the guns going off and the sound of the heavy footsteps of the soldiers. At the same time, they were in constant fear of the buildining taking a direct hit. During the day time, when at school, they had to carry gas masks and were always prepared to run and take cover in the air raid shelters in the event on an air raid. The worse was always when Royal Navy Ships were in the harbour.

People also had to be very careful as to what they were talking about and to whom.

Once, a month before the D - Day landings took place, when my youngest uncle, who was just a few weeks old, started to cry for milk, when the air raid sirens went off and evetyone in the building was requested to move out quickly, my mum was asked to carry her little brother with her to the shelter, she forgot and ran to the shelters. My garnd mother was not very happy but a very nice soldier hepled out by carrying him to the shelter - this was during day time. And another time, she almost dropped him, while running for cover.

Once, she remembers being told that some German soldiers had landed in Tanzania. She was very scared that if this true, then these men may come itno their building and kill everyone there. But this was not true and no one was killed in the building, which still stands today, though no longer the tallest building in the city.

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