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Re: Air Raids & Shelters.


I stand corrected on the damage to the factories as reported by Jonathan's father Eric. In mitigation it was over 60 years ago! At least my memories of the bombs which fell close to the school is not challenged. I saw this damage for myself. The rest of my piece was based on cloudy memories and I guess heresay. The statement that the 'Gram' was not bombed is still I think technically correct. The V1 flying bombs were quite random in where they fell and I am sure it was the belief of the local people at the time that the factory was not a target of German bombers because it had pre-war German connections.





I was interested to read that a bomb fell on the service station at the AEC Southall (home of London's buses) and that it was a target. Probably later in the war my father was working there on nights servicing heavy lorries. He used to bring us home liquid glucose which he had drained from the almost empty tankers they were servicing.





My mention of Hayes being out of range of the bombs only referred to the official thinking at the time for London children. Clearly it wasn't, as my recollection of the bombs in Balmoral Drive prove. That was why my family moved from Shepherd's Bush to Hayes. Had we stayed there the official plan was for me to be evacuated to the country with my infant school, my brother to a different place with his nursery school and my infant sister would go with my mother to yet a third place. My father would have stayed in London. My parents were determined to keep the family together. Father had a friend who was renting a house in Frogmore Avenue and we all moved to a similar house in Kingshill Avenue. The rent took a huge proportion of his income as a co-op milkman and we had to economise on electricity and heating. Only one bath per week for example and we all shared the hot water. They are still there today aged 93.





Hayes was regarded as an intermediate zone and I believe there was no mass evacuation from there. I think I am right in saying that there were few if any bombs dropped west of Hayes as the enemy aircraft tended to find London by following the Thames from the estuary and they had to pass through the anti-aircraft defences both ways. Navigation in those days was visual or by stars and compass.





The school in 1940 was vastly overcrowded with the children from then new Nash estate plus the exodus from London which my family was a typical example.


The school must have been built originally to serve the Taylor Woodrow estate. We were on half time schooling with classes of 40 or more. My first classroom was in a hut just on the left as you passed through the gate. My only clear memory of that is on my first day the teacher asked if anyone wanted to go to 'the offices'. I did not know it was a euphemism for the lavatory. I messed myself and was mortified.





At least two more schools have opened since then Charville and the school built between Frogmore Avenue and Raynton Drive. The latter were allotments throughout the war and my father had two plots which he used to grow vegetables to feed the family. I believe Charville school building was used as an emergency food store throughout the war years.





I was also interested to read that Heston was a fighter base. I have a clear memory of seeing Lysander light aircraft parked on the edge of the airfield. They were used to deliver and collect spies, equipment and underground resistance fighters in enemy territory as they could take off and land in a very small space.





Ernest Bray, Grange Park 1939-44


erniejoanbray@tesco.net

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Replying to:

Ernest Bray, in his interesting memories of local air-raids and air-raid shelters during WWII, is mistaken in saying that the "Gram" suffered no bomb damage. A lot of lives were lost there when a "Doodlebug" V1 flying-bomb landed between occupied underground shelters one afternoon. There is a grave/s and memorial/s to those died, in Cherry Lane Cemetery, Harlington.




AEC, Southall, was also hit several times, but only once suffering severe damage. That was on the night of 24th Sep 1940 when the Service Dept was hit by a bomb, which put a large part of the building completely out of use for six months. The plant had been been earmarked for attack by the Luftwaffe and their detailed plans were discovered during the Allied advance.




Lastly, Hayes was within the range of German aircraft and suffered several attacks causing damage and loss of life, but besides Northolt, the RAF also had fighter bases at Heston and at Heathrow.




Hoping this helps,


Eric Hayles.

Re: Re: Air Raids & Shelters.

As AEC has cropped up, you may be interested to know that dad (ex-AEC employee) and I run a website for the AEC Society. http://aecsociety.com ...and as Charville School is mentioned, you might be interested in another of my sites, http://charville.com . The other school you refer to is Hayes Park, with which I also have some connections, although I don't run their website!




You're right about Charville being used as some kind of store in its early years. This presents some problems when marking major anniversaries, because I believe there is a ten year gap bewteen the school being built and coming into service as a school....so no-one's quite sure, for example, which year should be regarded as its silver jubilee, or golden jubilee etc.... do you measure from building, or from occupying?

Re: Air Raids & Shelters.


Grange Park School Air Raid Shelters. I must have spent half my school days down those shelters in the early 1940's. Damp & Dark. No Lights. Teachers at each end and because it was dark it was always Spelling Bees. If it was a long Air Raid there would be Orange Juice and a Biscuit handed down the shelter. Then at dinner time one was not allowed to go home for dinner with a raid on unless a parent or adult came to collect you. If raid still on after lunch you did not bother to go back.


Hayes had over 2,000 bombs dropped on it during the course of the war. 3 DoodleBugs in one week. 1 in my back garden at Hurstfield Cres. (Mother killed & no Home) Another at EMI & Speedway Cafe, DAwley Road and another in Cherry Lane. I Remember Bombs top of Park Lane/Uxbridge Road. Some in Botwell Lane

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Ernest Bray, in his interesting memories of local air-raids and air-raid shelters during WWII, is mistaken in saying that the "Gram" suffered no bomb damage. A lot of lives were lost there when a "Doodlebug" V1 flying-bomb landed between occupied underground shelters one afternoon. There is a grave/s and memorial/s to those died, in Cherry Lane Cemetery, Harlington.




AEC, Southall, was also hit several times, but only once suffering severe damage. That was on the night of 24th Sep 1940 when the Service Dept was hit by a bomb, which put a large part of the building completely out of use for six months. The plant had been been earmarked for attack by the Luftwaffe and their detailed plans were discovered during the Allied advance.




Lastly, Hayes was within the range of German aircraft and suffered several attacks causing damage and loss of life, but besides Northolt, the RAF also had fighter bases at Heston and at Heathrow.




Hoping this helps,


Eric Hayles.