Childhood and the blitz

Tom Holloway (xuegx@CSV.WARWICK.AC.UK)
Mon, 11 Mar 1996 16:08:51 GMT 

> If you were a school Child, were you scared going to school?

No.  I walked to school as normal (we didn't have
cars, and children were expected to walk if it was
less than a couple of miles).  If there was an air
raid warning we ignored it (like everyone else) but
if we heard bombers overhead and the ack-ack guns
started up we got into a shelter smartish!!



> Did you ever hear "Buzz Bombs" overhead? When that happened, what did it
>feel like?

Lots of them.  They made a funny noise like (well....
better not use that word.....) and if we actually SAW
one it was worth extra points.  Obviously, we kept
notes of which planes we had seen.  Spitfires and
Hurricanes were very ordinary, but seeing German
bombers was considered a great thrill.  I remember
seeing a barrage balloon crashing one night but I
didn't see the plane that hit it.

You ask what it felt like.  It felt completely normal,
just as your life feels completely normal.




> Were There any home town heros you knew? Who? What did they do?

No.  I didn't know any heros, but the local paper used
to do pieces about the people in Heavy Rescue who had to
crawl into bombed houses to try to get the survivors out.
If you give me a school fax number I'll fax you a couple
of pages about that.




> Did you play any war games? What types?

Now THAT'S a very interesting question.  I had forgotten all
about that.  I remember that one of the games we played a
lot was 'Spitfires and Messerschmidts' and mostly we just
ran around the playground making airplane and machine-gun
noises.  I can't remember any rules - we made it all up as
we went along.  I was a bit on the small side so I was
mostly made to be a Messerschmidt.

For indoor games at home we would put out our few toy
soldiers (made of lead and very precious) and then I could
be a Stuka Dive-bomber and drop things on them.  We were all
very taken with Stuka Dive-bombers, they made a wonderful
screaming noise which we would immitate until the grown-ups
shouted at us to STOP THAT BL**DY ROW IMMEDIATELY OR YOU
WILL BE SENT TO BED...

Goodness me - how bloodthirsty it all sounds now, fifty
years after!  Hey Eberhardt, Ernest and others!!  Were you
and your pals doing the same things in Berlin and Vienna?

==================================
Tom Holloway ----- +44 1926 888333
Home: 1926 420204 Fax: 1926 435534
Internet: t.holloway@warwick.ac.uk
URL http://www.tcns.co.uk/chatback/
==================================