Personal and family memories of WW2

Joy wrote her story at age 60, after retiring. Suffers from nightmares. Thought that writing about it would help which it did to a large extent. Had nightmares that the Germans were coming.

Was 3 years old when war started. Family home was in North West London.

Father was to old to go into force - worked as an electrician in Lancashire, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Oxford, Wiltshire.

Worked on American Airbases as an electrician in military bases in a variety of bases . Family followed him around - children ended up going to different schools.
Evacuated from their London home in Southall in 1941 because bomb damaged their house. In 1943, family moved to Norfolk, staying in run-down old cottage (no electricity, no water, no indoor toilet,) with great - uncle who was crippled..

Happy times though, at school and in the village.

In 1944, still in Norfolk. Used to watch American airplanes returning from missions, some on fire. One plane came down close to where they lived, hitting fron of neighbouring cottage. Fortunately the occupiers escaped by running the rear of the house, but all the crew of the aircraft were killed. Avril was 8 yrs old when she saw the aftermath of such events - empty boots on the ground and flying jackets on trees.

Further back in time - 1940 - Dunkirk. M. Southall? saw a returning soldier "Uncle Bertie Goodman", their neighbour, returned from Dunkirk looking dishevelled.

He was an RAF engineer and sent to Singapore in 1942 and captured by the Japanese. Became POW in Shanghai jail and worked on the Burma Railway. When he returned in 1946, he gathered the neighbours to share the story of his horrific experiences. He thought he only survived because of his mature age (42). Many younger POWs (18, 19 ....yrs old) died of starvation, physical punishment, tough labour. In prison he carved a secret message "love, hope, charity" - his faith in God kept him going. He had a pack of permanganate of potash crystals (normally used as a disinfectant) but ate one small crystal /day. He thought that also helped him survive.

During his absence, his wife (Auntie Goodman) didn't have up to date news about whether he was dead or alive. Her hair went white through worry. Uncle Goodman was "skin-on-bone" and thin when he returned.

Avril's family returned home to Southall in 1945, home of her birth - still there today! Avril, aged 9, 10 yrs, returned with kitten George from Norfolk. Her written record of her experiences was written when she was 60.

As a child she would practice running to the air-raid shelters - needed to be under 10 seconds of hearing signal.