Wartime Memories of Hyde Park, South Brent and Buckfastleigh

This story has been written onto the BBC People’s War site by CSV Storygatherer Louise Smith on behalf of Patricia Bissett. The story has been added to the site with their permission and Patricia Bissett fully understands the terms and conditions of the site.

I was only about 6 years old, I’d had a cough, and was about to go to Hyde Park School. There were other people in the house, and someone asked me “When are you going to school then?” I said “I’m going tomorrow” and then that night the school got hit and was on fire, so I never went at all. I think I was glad.

During a raid one night, my Mum and brother were in the shelter. I was with my Dad and we were on the top floor of the top floor of the house looking out of the window at the searchlights and all the flashes and fires from the gunfire we could hear. We went to the shelter eventually. People next door had an incendiary bomb drop near them and the outside of the shelter was on fire.

My mum, brother and I went shopping at Mutley Plain and the siren went, so we went into a tunnel and walked through it. That’s all I can remember, it must be the railway tunnel.

My dad wad a baker, so there was always a job for him in almost any town, so we wnt to Plympton to live for a while in 2 different houses, one in Dark Street Land and another in Fore Street, St Maurice. Then we moved to South Brent. The house is on the main road, at that time it was called ‘Clarence House’. I believe it is still there. Then it was off to Buckfastleigh where the Yanks came and took our park. I remember once I was out to play with my friends. They shouted out “Hiya, Red”, probably because of my red hair. My best friend in Buckfastleigh was Sylvia Tillyer, now Topper, she was my bridesmaid in 1955 and we are still friends. Sylvia came from London, and now lives in Tiverton.

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