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This story was submitted to the People's War site by Louise Angell of the CSV Action desk at 麻豆官网首页入口 Radio Derby on behalf of Doreen Adcock. The author understands the sites terms and conditions.

I was born in London 2 years before war broke out. We lived in a cul-de-sac near North End Road Market turning of the Lillee Road.
I had 2 brothers and 1 sister. My father worked for the North Thames Gas Board as a mains foreman of Westminster district so wasn't allowed to go to fight. but he was a member of the Home Guard.
My eldest brother was a scout and his job was to deliver messages to the ARP Wardens if necessary.
During the year of 1939 we had a very heavy bombing raid. We were all in a cellar under the house. we heard the sound of a bomb falling and the blast was terrible. It shook the house and the blast also came into the cellar blowing us all up the stairs to the entrance. It then drew back, taking us, and the props in the cellar, with it. We were very lucky to get out alive. When the all clear went, we went up the stairs and out into the street and saw no houses on the opposite side of the street. I lost my best friend in that raid. his name was Peter. I did miss him greatly. We were then sent to the country, to Leighton Buzzard with my mum, Nanny Toms and my sister. We went to relatives. My father found us a new place to live, so we came back home to Fulham in London. We soon resettled. By this time I started school at Sherbrooke Road, a short walk away from our new house. The year then was 1941.
The raids started to change again and it was decided that the children who were left in London should be evacuated out of the city. So we were sent to holton, nr. Bolton, Lancashire. We were only 5 and 7 years old at the time and had never been away from home on our own. we went with the few clothes we had at that time. we arrived late at night so had to sleep the night in the village hall. we sat all day because they were not interested in a young child, they only wanted someone to do odd jobs. We had a letter from our father to say we were not to be parted. I asked for my ticket back home in case we couldn't stay together.
we finally got taken in by a fmily that had two children a boy named Colin and a girl called Doris.We were made to wear clogs and had to go across the fields to school. when it snowed it was like walking on stilts. the man of the house worked down the pit and brought home a large piece of coal every day. I used to cry myself to sleep every night because I missed my mother so much. Mum and dad came to visit us once when we were there. That was the turning point and they decided to have us home. Dad and my brother came to bring us home and they promised that we would never be parted again. My eldest brother had at that time joined the army and was courting his wife.
We never had much to play with so had to make do. we played my favourite - 5 stones, whip and top, and two balls up the wall. The best game we had was a rope to go the width of the street and we sang songs and skipped all the time with everbody joining in. No-one was left on their own. We had one car in our street and that belonged to the people who ran the china shop. We also had a pig bin by the lamp post for waste.
The shop I liked best was Mr.Gills shop on the corner and he had a large apron that came down to his shoes. He sold biscuits out of boxes with glass lids. Cut the cheese with a wire on a board and cut the bacon on a hand cutter. I would stand and watch to see if he would cut his fingers off. The treat of the week was a bottle of Tizer and a small block of ice cream whipped up and drunk while it was still fizzing.
The war finally came to an end. We had bonfires in the street, sat out in the streets and had tea parties, made guys to look like Hitler and set fire to them. My friend's dad came back from the war. Everybody was happy. I hope I never have to go through what happenned then in my life, again.

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