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

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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.