Essex

Cilvilians at War

I remember one day we tried to take a load to Coalhouse fort, which is a few miles further down the road,...

My father's call up.

He brought presents, a white silk parachute that he was hoping to use in some way, a beautifully carved...

Reminiscences of World War II - Doris Fraser (nee Bysouth) aged 81

In the shelter my Mum and Dad slept on bunks that were raised off the ground and my sister Joan, brother...

Angel of Mercy-Childhood memories

When I arrived in D Block the war had still another six months left in which to run its course,...

My War Years in Rayleigh

My eldest sister was sent to work in the Pye radio factory in Cambridge and my other sister was sent to...

Memories of the Battle of Britain

From early on in the hostilities we felt the impact of the war as the position of the village made us...

What is a kid like me doing in a place like this: The Blitz in Hornchurch

I remember things that went bump in the night; the blackout; being evacuated to Glasgow on a train filled...

The First Year

Illustrated magazines and posters showed us how to recognise German soldiers even if they were out of...

Life at Hill Farm: Part 1

Excerpt; Sunday 3 September 1939 War is declared today on Germany at 11.a.m. At 11.15a.m. the air raid...

1939 - 45 War - Evacuation etc

Whilst at New Bradwell School I took and passed the scholarship exam. My parents had to select which school...

When Were You An Evacuee?

The shop opposite us was taken over by the ARP.It was sand-bagged up and through a small door there buzzed...

Peter Dawbarn -Part 2: No Brakes And No Hydraulics, But It’ll Fly!

Just as I was about to get into my Hurricane to fly back, the Flight Commander came up and said...

War Time in South Woodham Ferrers

This, Dad was obliged to do to save the orchard being uprooted to form one big field with adjoining...

Firefighting on the Home Front, in Chelmsford

These two letters were written to his elder brother Ernest by my father, Reg Quick, in September 1940 and...

Bombed Out: Aerial Torpedo in Essex

The official incident report reads as follows: 21/8/40, 12-44 Brentwood 2- H.es 1 is 300 yards East of...

A Primary Teacher's Experiences 1

I had bought myself a new bicycle with some of my end-of-term pay-packet, just before war was declared, and...

A Toddlers Memoirs of WW2

The reason it was so early was that he had served in the Grenadier Guards for two years in the early 1930s...

Night Raids

German night raids over our cities were known as the ‘Blitz’ from the German Blitzkrieg used in...

Wireless Instructor for the RAF in WW2

I travelled to Uxbridge RAF Station from Devon and as thousands were doing the same I had to sleep on a...

Evacuation: From Essex to Lowestoft

There were more than enough teachers at Park to accompany those children in park whose parents wished them...

Audrey's Wartime Adventures part 9 :my family

But then mother had had to get up early to milk the goats, take them out to pasture and tether them, feed...

My War Years: Evacuated Troops and the ATS

We were lucky but a little village called Tupton on the outskirts of Chesterfield caught the last of the...

Serving in the Home Office Police, Leigh

Servicemen When soldiers or sailors got drunk inside the Leigh Elms pub, it was the Home Office Police who...

Hornchurch Aerodrome and Flying Bombs

My father was at Gallipoli in World War One, in the Essex Regiment and he never bore any grudge against...

Derek's Evacuation.Part 1

We soon became hungry and keen to find what was in the food parcels.Among the usual sandwiches,was a Mars...

Wartime in Wivenhoe

We arrived at this big house in the evening where there were 2 lodgers but Mrs Chick, herself, was in...