School Memories of John Simmons

My father, John, aged nine, was staying in a caravan with his family in Kings Lynn when war was announced. As children were being evacuated to the country, it was decided that they would stay in Norfolk with their Aunt Eleanor, whose husband and sons were in the RAF, and their grandparents. The stay in Norfolk didn't work out and they returned to their Chigwell home and schools not long after.

My father then attended Chigwell School. He arrived late in the term when friendships had already been established and he found it hard to settle. He recalled fire watching and spending nights in the air raid shelter in the grounds. One night a bomb fell in the school grounds. He and a friend were photographed looking into the crater for a local paper.

One night when staying at home, there was an air raid and nobody could wake my father, so relatives recalled that an air raid warden carried my father down to the shelter - they were appreciative and amazed at this act of kindness.