Extract from the memoirs of Muriel Sybil Ward, born in 1916
"... The 'phoney war' continued into 1940. Then things began to 'hot up' with the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Germany, followed by Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg being overrun by Hitler's forces. June saw the evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk.
On September 7 1940 London sustained its largest aerial attack since war commenced. It so happened that very morning my 'young man', Stan, and I travelled by train from Bethnal Green to Reading, for what was to have been a week's restful break! As the sirens sounded that evening, we little realised what was in store.
Back home an AA-shell fired from a mobile AA-gun on the railway line 300 yards away from Globe Road, where I was living with my parents, failed to get airborne. It landed on the house next door without exploding, causing plenty of damage including the back rooms upstairs of our house!
That evening, and Sunday too, with Mr. and Mrs. C--, Stan and I watched the red glow in the sky 40 miles away, and heard on the radio of the damage to the City of London. We were unable to enjoy the break, despite the fact that the C--s made us very welcome, taking us out in their car to visit people we knew, and to places of interest, using their precious petrol coupons into the bargain.
During October 1940 I changed my job as a ledger clerk for one at Unilever House by Blackfriars Bridge. Although there was a lull in the bombing over Christmas, on December 29 the City of London was severely burnt by incendiary bombs. The Guildhall and eight Wren churches were sadly destroyed.
So the following morning, December 30, after the great havoc of the night before, found me having to walk from the Bank along Queen Victoria Street to Blackfriars Bridge, heart in mouth, stepping over the firemen's hoses as they damped down the still-smouldering buildings. I had found the new job at Unilever without difficulty. The atmosphere was very congenial. There was no Saturday work and the staff canteen offered a good lunch at 5d. a day. The section I worked with had been newly-formed, combining all the margarine manufacturers into one group, called MARCOM.
Things were in a mess to begin with and it was suggested that volunteers could work Saturday morning from 9-12 to speed up the organisation. All agreed, as the 12/6d offered was indeed riches, and this went on for twelve weeks. I had never had it so good! More money, 10/6d. in fact, than at Scott Bader, less working hours and more new friends.
Double Summertime was in operation throughout the war, and although I left home during the winter in the dark, at least I was able to get back in the daylight and have something to eat before the air raid warning sounded. My mother and I slept in an Anderson air raid shelter in the garden most nights with the dog for company. My father only joined us if things 'got bad'!
My mother kept the shelter like a palace. There was carpeting on the wooden floor. Once inside a heavy blanket covered the door. Hot water bottles kept the bedding aired and sand bags were piled up for extra protection. We slept 'like tops' and this we put down to the night-cap of ruby wine, which I would buy in a jug from the Greyhound public house nearby. It was siphoned off into a bottle, all for 2/-! (10p)
I read by candlelight and knitted comforts for the crew of HMS Arctic Hunter, a mine sweeper, which we Rangers had adopted. Otherwise there was no social life. Church services were reduced to Sunday mornings, and were held in the back room, the church having been damaged by a land mine, which dropped nearby during a daytime raid.
I ran the Comforts Fund, wrote to the men of the Church in the Forces, sent them Duty Free cigarettes or tobacco, if they smoked, or sweets. I also provided the flowers for the table on Sundays, with contributions given by some of the Church members.
In February 1941 Stan and I were engaged with a September wedding in mind, and I began to collect items for my 'bottom drawer'. He was working for the Pay Corps office in London, with a billet at home in Hackney. We decided to rent a flat in Hackney, buy furniture, and enjoy as normal a life as possible. Ted, Stan's brother, agreed to be best man, and Ivy, my friend of badminton days, was my bridesmaid. The wedding day was set for September 1941 at the Trinity Congregational Church in Lauriston Road, South Hackney. The BIG day dawned slightly misty with a promise of sunshine, and turned into a glorious autumn day. Everything went according to plan, no visits from Jerry, and the good weather for a week's honeymoon spent at Babbacombe set the seal for a bright future. . . ."
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