The War Years

A Memory of Penge.

I was always in the Penge Recreation during the war, not only to play but I used to cut through from one end of the Rec, as we used to call it, to the other end coming out of the gates opposite St John's Church, where you can see the steeple in the picture.  I always used to think how lovely the flower beds were kept by the gardeners. Just outside the gates there was a war memorial, where people used to lay wreaths.  
During the war I particularly remember there being a large silver barrage balloon in the Penge Recreation Ground, and also a large brick air raid shelter, where I ran into on several occasions with my brother on our way home from school when there was an air raid on.