Childhood Memories

It was the 6th September 1939 and to-morrow i would be six, as i sat on my friends gate waiting for her to haver her tea, these aircraft went over my head very low, i could see the pilots and i waved to them. I then noticed they had funny marks on their wings i had never seen them before.
As i looked around i saw the milkman lying under his float and all the men running down the road and hiding in peoples doorways, i thought i had better run home to my mum.
When i arrived home my mother pulled me in the front door, said was has been declared and we went in the cupboard under the stairs.
They were bombing the Croydon Airport and my father who was a lamp lighter was by the side of the Croydon Airport on his bike, he took shelter in a ladies house which was bombed and he later came home all covered in dust and rubble, they were both alive but the house was badly damaged.

When the Battle of Britain started we went to the park in Croydon where we had a good view of the dog fights which took place above our heads, every time on of the German planes were hit we all gave a cheer, the warden tried to keep us in the shelter, but it was much to o exciting to miss, our boys really did us proud and after it was over we used to see them doing their victory roll before they went back to Biggin Hill or Kenley.

My cousin and i were going on a picnic to the Shirley Hills in Croydon it was the 6th June 1944, an old lady stopped us on the way and said it was not a good day for us to be out, but we said we were going for a picnic.
As we entered the Shirley Hills we found a place for our picnic under the trees and then were surprised to see hundreds of tanks coming past us from under the trees, they had been hidden there, while they assembled for the D.Day landings of course we knew nothing of this until afterwards.

My mothere always insisted on giving me Syrup of figs on a Friday nights to make me pure for the weekend, i had my usual dose on the friday night and as usual i was in the bathroom upstairs on the Saturday morning about 6am when i heard a Doodle Bug coming over , his engine cut out and i knew he was on his way down. I have never come down those stairs so fast in all my life.
My father pulled me into the shelter which was in the dining room and the next minute we had all the ceilings windows and doors blown off, the Doodle Bug landed across the road in a large garden but killed 4 people, and left a great big crater, i would have been killed as the bathroom door blew down the stairs and the heavy front door bley up the stairs and met in the middle. I could have been in the middle of the two.

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