We took notice that time!

It was dangerous all the time while you were moving around — anything could have come down. You couldn’t see where you were because all the stations were blacked out. You had to count where you were and guess more or less.

There was bombing going on most of the time when we travelled. In fact the sirens were often going off. The planes would come over London, over to Dover and right across. You’d often see them calling the searchlights, and they’d be firing across. But as I say, you got used to it — it’s a funny thing to get used to, but you would and you’d take no notice.

I was with Margaret- my little girl once, and we were in a station waiting to board the train to go up to Tottenham to see my husband’s Mum, and suddenly this plane came flying down towards us and it was shooting all these bullets all around us. We had to run and hide in a dip there but it was firing at us all the time. Then it swerved and off it went again. It must have been firing what it had left at us, but that was frightening because you never knew what was going to hit you. (We took notice that time!)

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the BBC Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Doris Saunders and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Saunders fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Doris's stories:

• We weren’t prepared for war at all
• They’d all just started, like me
• That’s how we crossed paths
• You heard the “swish” of the rocket just before it landed on the house
• All you could see was his eyes
• You’d see a queue and just jump on the end
• Climbing trees and fences
• We had some fun with ‘em
• He’d gone all the way round
• It was lucky I’d already got married

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