EVACUATION

The climax of these raids came again to London on Sunday, December 29 and was timed to coincide with the dead-low-water hour of the tidal Thames River. Water mains were broken at the start by very highly-explosive parachute mines. These were followed by incendiary bombs almost exclusively, resulting in between 1,500 and 2,000 fires burning simultaneously- the majority out of control-[spacing different with first and last hyphens - might be a conversion to web thing]with little water with which to battle them. It was said that the Thames was pumped so dry that one could have walked across it.

By the end of May, 1941, the air raids had ceased. Over 20,000 Londoners were dead. Ten times that number had suffered injuries, and one in six were should be was made homeless. For over three years all was virtually quiet until the V-1 (doodle-bug) bombardment began, followed by V-2 rockets.

"You boys will be alright - all right," Dad said reassuringly as he hugged us both. "The people in charge will let us know where you are and we will write to you as soon as we can." He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Try to take care of your brother" he added.

The buses pulled away from the school. We children crowded the windows to get a last glimpse of their - our loved ones, settling quietly into our seats as the bus turned the corner at the end of the street. There was not a sound; each of us was very much alone with our thoughts, and scared at the major changes coming in our lives.

Gradually the houses changed from rows of terraces to duplexes and single homes, each with its own small lawn and garden. And then we were passing through the countrysides - countryside's patchwork of fields and brilliant green hedgerows. Farms and villages dotted the landscape, which many of us were seeing for the first time in our young lives.

Going to a strange place-with a woman who obviously wasn't keen on taking us in-spaces around the hyphens?was frightening, but it seemed better than the alternative. The last thing I wanted was to be put to the test of getting my brother and me safely back to London, although I had no doubts about trying it.

But it was the house I found most interesting, for it was to be our home for who knew how long. A large rectangular building, it was plastered with cement, painted white with a two-foot high black band around the base, and topped by a steel grey slate roof. A one-storey one-story kitchen had been added to the barn end of the house.


DRESS BLUES

Nothing I noticed in a quick read-through