MY WAR MEMORIES

Being born in 1941 most of my memories are from family ‘stories’ although some are quite clear in my mind.

The V2
We lived in Chingford, East London, and in the early hours of 5th February 1945 a V2 landed at the end of our road. We were only about 50 yards from the impact. I can still recall the loud bang and clearly remember being out in the road in the early hours, whilst still dark, carefully sweeping glass off ‘my chair’ into the road with a little brush. Later I can recall shouting “Mummy — there are sailors on the roof”. What we hadn’t realised that, in the dark, all the tiles off the roof had been blown off. Where the troops had come from I do not know but they were putting tarpaulins on the rafters. As the water main had been damaged there was no supply for several days and I, together with other children, would wait by the lamppost each holding a small jug awaiting the arrival of the bowser. When it arrived our places in the queue were taken by our parents who appeared with larger receptacles to carry the water.

Dad’s Army
An amusing anecdote, allegedly true as it has been told many times. My father was a lieutenant in the Home Guard. He had been to choir practice at the local church on a Friday night and, as was usual, they had stopped off at the Bull and Crown for refreshment. As he approached our house he noticed two men sitting on a bench reading a map with a torch. He went indoors and tried to telephone the police but, as was often the case, the line was inoperable. Undaunted he donned his Home Guard battledress top, drew his revolver, and approached the two men ordering them to put their hands up. They protested but he would have nothing of it and ‘frog marched’ the two individuals about ¾ mile to the Police Station. It was then discovered that they were two CID officers who had become lost in the dark, there being no road signs, and were trying to ascertain their position! Apparently he got a commendation for doing the right thing although feeling a little stupid when they truth came out.

Under the driver’s seat
“Under the driver’s seat” was an expression used often in the household and it wasn’t until after the hostilities had ceased, and whilst rationing was still in existence, that I began to realise what this saying meant. I cannot recall ever really being short of foodstuffs although there must have been times of shortage. I am sure my father was not in the ‘Black Market’ and, heaven forbid, ever did anything totally dishonest but he worked in Spitafields Market in London and was the Petrol Officer. Correct me if I am wrong but I understand that if a farmer had a load of potatoes for market and he farmed in say Lincolnshire the farmer would apply for fuel tokens from the local Petrol Officer for sufficient fuel to get to the market. Once unloaded, and the paper work duly stamped, the driver would seek out the market Petrol Officer to get fuel tokens for the return journey. I am not saying any more but we always seemed to have a plentiful supply of eggs and meat! When anybody asked where it had come from the answer was always “Under the driver’s seat”.

Bananas
It is often said that there were no bananas imported during the war — maybe not at the beginning but I can clearly recall my schoolteacher holding up a picture of a banana in 1946 and asking if anyone knew what it was. Quick as a flash I had my hand up and said “A banana”. “How did you know” asked the teacher? “I had one for breakfast” I replied to her amazement. I cannot recall it being a novelty. I can only reason that a small supply came in from time to time and what there was were bought up by the market traders.

The Dog Fight
One final story from before I was born. My mother was actually pregnant with me at the time. It was September 1940 and she, my father and two brothers, had ventured up to High Beech, in Epping Forest, where there was a dog fight going on overhead. My father and brothers took cover in a ditch but not my mother. She was in the open shouting encouragement to our boys above! The story goes that she was standing on the roof of the car waving a Union Jack but I think this is probably an enlargement on the truth.

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