- Contributed by听
- West Sussex Library Service
- People in story:听
- Beryl Newell, Clive Newell, Alan Newell, Captain Greenwood Mrs Greenwood
- Location of story:听
- East Grinstead, Sussex
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A4133747
- Contributed on:听
- 31 May 2005
We were evacuated to Dorman's Park from Brockley Central School. A lot of the residents were very wary of having children billeted on them, so when the school was offered the use of a large house (Ranworth) owned by Captain Greenwood, the children were moved here and my mother became the matron.
My brother Clive and myself were at primary school at Baldwin's Hill and had to catch the 428 bus, then walk across the fields to get home. On 9th July 1943 the day of the cinema bombing, we had caught the 428 home from school. One of the planes that had bombed the town, followed the bus strafing the road with machine gun fire. The bus got to our stop and Clive and I dived off the bus into the ditch. The bus carried on with the plane still following it!
That day was also Mum's half day off and she had decided to go to the cinema in town. It was Veronica Lake in "I Married a Witch" and my mother thought it was a stupid film. Looking at her watch, she realised she could catch the 428 home in 5 minutes time, so for the only time in her life she left the cinema before the film finished. She caught the bus and missed the bomb.
By this time in the war, Captain and Mrs Greenwood had moved to Ashurst Wood. Mrs Greenwood was deaf and dumb, but my mother, feeling that she had a restricted life, had introduced her to the cinema which she loved although she couldn't hear anything. She became a real fan and continued to go to the Whitehall cinema from Ashurst Wood. Unfortunately, Mrs Greenwood had also decided to go to the cinema that day. My older brother (Alan) had arrived home from Reigate (where he was working in an Insurance office whilst waiting to be called up), to find the town bombed and Captain Greenwood standing by his shooting brake asking if Alan had seen his wife and hoping that she hadn't gone to the cinema.
Unfortunately, she had and was a victim of the Whitehall Cinema bombing. Mum always felt it was rather ironic that she had introduced Mrs Greenwood to the joy of films, which had led to her death, when my mum had walked away.
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