Given a bit of cheek

Another time, whilst working, there was a block of flats that had been built just before the War, at the bottom of Curzon Street in the heart of Mayfair. Because the building had not been completed fully by the beginning of the War, the lifts had not been placed in the building.

The building had been taken over the army, and consisted of five floor levels which housed different sections of the army. As there no lifts, one particular end of the building was the only access point to the whole block of flats. One each floor level there would be a Military Police Man controlling the security for that level.

On this occasion, as with other occasions I was having a little chat with the police, and on this occasion I remember I had to go to the top floor. On each level I was explaining that I was on a half day and I’d be going home after delivering the messages (and receiving a bit of cheek from each, “oh, only a half-day eh? Part-timer.”) Anyway, I delivered the message, returned down the stairways, and I chatted to the chaps all the way down, and the last fella said “Cheerio, we’ll probably see you on Monday, and I hope you win your football match”.

Anyway, I left and I nearly reached the office and I heard in the distance a number of bombs, so I knew that Gerry had dropped a few bombs somewhere. I went home and I played in the football match (and we won, as I remember) and the weekend came and went, and on the Monday I had telegrams in the area of the block of flats, and I noticed that part of the area was cordoned off. I said to one of the policemen there, “what’s happened then round here?”, he explained that a bomb had dropped just after noon on Saturday — just after I’d left the building and it had killed about 30 individuals — and similarly the numbers were quite high of the injuries — so I though to myself ‘well, I was rather jolly lucky there, as if I’d not been on a half day, I’d have probably hung about a bit and had a chat, then I may not have been here now!

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the BBC Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Bill Kendall and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Bill's stories:

• A White-Faced Inspector
• Chipolatas and Chips
• Doody
• High-Tailed it home
• How it all began
• I was BKFJ434
• ’Let him go and let him tarry’
• In a split second timing
• Oranges and Lemons
• Rotten Bananas
• Waste not, Want not
• It was coming straight for me
• Using more of my nine lives
• Tiny and Shiny
• Free post
• Time just came and went
• No. 1 London

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