The Pre Fab Years

in 1941 i was born in Mitcham 214 Manor Way, their were wonderful memories I had , Brian and ann Mcrea who lived in Stanford Way Opp the old Rowan Road school, often wonder how they are doing, i think it was around 1944 that one morning me and my Brother Geoff we were downstairs in the front room in bed, their was that awful clater of a doodle bug coming down it was very close, my brother said get under the covers, then i heard my mum running down the stairs screaming, she was blown under the rubble, survived lived till 92 strong in them days, when i got out of bed their was broken glass everywhere, the house opposite on the corner with rowan road got the direct hit, we were given a temp accmdtion in Brixton road even worse their, we moved back in around 1946, I first when't to school in 1947 it was a year late because i think their wasn't much money to go round and bit short on teachers, i remember ink pots and old miss rogers the head would come round with the slightest trouble and give you 6 lashes across the hand, i loved going over the 7 islands and one day walked across to the 1 island with a wooden box that i hoped i could use as a boat it sunk. sometimes i would walk over the common with my older Brother Ron, sometimes with my little girlfriend ann, when i left school i worked at Trings in Monarch Parade working on tv repairs, he was a bit of a skinflint sacked staff when things got bad, i eventually finished up with RRentals , and moved to whitstable in 1968, then Broadstairs finally Ramsgate been here 17 yrs now. 76 love my three dogs. we have a lovely Park in Ramsgate.

Hi Brian, I was born at St. Helier hospital in 1943 and we lived in Oxtoby Way. My dad was a bandsman in the Scots Guards, there were many Guards bandsmen living nearby. Our maisonette got a direct hit from a doodlebug on June 25th 1944. Very luckily my mum and I were evacuated the day before, to stay with upstairs neighbours family in Liverpool. My dad was in the Anderson shelter in the garden and had to be dug out and taken to Wilson hospital with serious injuries. We believed that the Germans were targeting the Smith Meter factory in Streatham Vale as the area was heavily bombed.