A CHILD'S WAR IN EAST ACTONEast ActonI was born in 1942 in Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Hammersmith during an air raid (according to my late Mother).

Daddy had been severely injured some years previously in a motor cycle accident in Scotland so was an an Air Raid Warden in London.

Born during the War, it was all normal life to me and I didn't think anything of it.

My parents had been living in a flat in Cumberland Park (posh Victorian houses divided into flats even in those days) and had been bombed out and found a flat in Larden Road.

At that time Larden Road had brick shelters built all along the road, but my parents never used those as I remember so they must have been very nasty and possibly smelly. At the top of the road (Uxbridge Road) was a large area which I think had previously been used as allotments where later {after te War), very ugly flats were built where I believe the late, lamented star Adam Faith was born.

I remember the blackout curtains and a Morrison bed which I think belonged to the folks next door. I suppose we had an Anderson shelter but never used it and my late Father built a garden shed out of it after the War.

My late Mother was all for the "under the stairs" approach which I remember quite well with bedding and so on.

I was never "evacuated" except one time which I don't remember very well (I must have been about two), going up to stay with my maternal grandmother in Darlington. She couldn't understand why I wanted to go "under the stairs" so that didn't work out very well. There was a certain amount of ill feeling, and I am very sorry I lost track of my Grandmother who died around 1967.

As for rationing, I only remember some sort of disgusting orange juice which tasted of cod liver oil.

Bombed out properties were very exciting, covered with flowers. A friend from school (St. Vincent's Convent) "Winifred", took me to her house on Pierrepoint Road -- a large garden with fruit and flowers and at the end of that another large garden with a very exciting crypt -- the bombed out house.

We in Larden Road were very lucky as today those very ugly Edwardian properties are mostly intact and very highly priced.

I have lived in California for forty years now.

Does anyone else have any memories of Acton at War -- particularly East Acton near Acton Park? and Larden Road?

Jill H. Harvey (Mrs.)