• 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
Age
20 Years

11th April 1944

Mr Brierley, G and I signed off the old E.G. at about 1100am. Marconi’s had given us 7 days leave and squared us up by 1500 and I  managed to catch the 1610 fast train to London (Easter). Dad met me at Paddington and between us we managed my heavy bags. I met Eric at Victoria: he had been down to Gloucester for a few days. The house didn’t look too bad, and from the outside showed little visible signs of damage. Indoors however, the walls were knocked about and most of the ceilings suffered damage. Joan and Mrs Evans had a narrow escape when two incendiaries came through the roof of “Greengates”. They were sheltering in the cupboard under the stairs at the time and one of the incendiaries pierced the ceiling, passed through the staircase and glanced off a tin hat resting on a shelf just above Joan’s head, and fell to the floor in front of the cupboard. The tin hat followed covering the bomb and Joan fell out on top of both of them.

The other incendiary burnt through most of the upper floor but was successfully put out by willing helpers. The crater of the ton bomb that dropped on the downs just by the notice board, measured approximately 30ft across and 7 or 8ft deep.