Childhood Memories of the War - Diana Esme Wooldridge

Diana was born in 1938, the youngest of four children. They lived in Littlehampton and Diana remembers lots of Canadian and American soldiers in the area. The troops were billeted in large houses.

She remembers being taken to see a bombed house, where she a body lay twitching. She also remembers seeing a dog fight above where she was sitting under a tree with her mother. Near Pier Road, she saw a body floating in the river.

Diana also remembers a line of vehicles, perhaps lining up for D-Day and waves of planes going over. The soldiers took a local dog with them.

An unexploded bomb was found in their garden and her mum had to find somewhere else to live, with her four children. She found a large house and they had ten marine commanders billeted with them, practising in the Arun. Later she had Air Sea Rescue billeted in the house.

Peter and Stella, her siblings were evacuated to Nottingham. Diana and her other brother, Robert stayed in Littlehampton with her mum.

On VE Day Stella, Diana's mum arranged a street party for everyone.

Diana's father was in the Royal Marines. He manned a machine gun at Admiralty Arch.