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59 St, Asaph Road,
Brockley, SE4
Sunday

My dear Win,
Just a line to let you know we are all safe although we have had a terrible time since Friday night.

Brockley had its first bombs Friday night 2 houses in Brockley Rd nearly opposite the water trough, Brakespear Rd Tressillian Rd St Cyripian’s Church etc. We though we had been hard hit but Bermondsey also caught a packet Lipton’s (Park Road [?]) Keetons Rd Drummond Rd, Clements Rd Storks Rd Lindsey St Glue Factory Grange Rd and many other place, also Elephant and Castle.

Saturday from 4.30 was a day of terror, I was collecting in Neptune St when the sirens went and as the planes were overhead in scores I picked up Mrs Rouses boy and she, the baby and went to the Shelter in the Town Hall. We only just got in when Jerry released his bombs where we were standing and demolished Mrs Rouses house + 8 others What a shock. Well most of the people in this dugout are now homeless as he bomb us unmerciful and hardly a place within a ¼ mile around except the Town Hall, he started a fire here which I expect you could see in Dormans [our evacuation venue 30 miles away] the all clear went at 6.45 and I was so shaken by the experience and the screamin women and children in the dugout that I packed up and made my way home but most of the roads were roped off and so I had to go half way round London to get to Canal Bridge [in Old Kent Road] however I thought I would give a call in home [to visit his mother-in-law]. Before going to Brockley and got a shock to see Credon Road [the road in which my mother’s parents lived] no 51, 53, 55 got hit and the next fell in Varco Rd [an adjacent street] Right opposite the end house 2 people killed in this house. Mum and Dad [Mr + Mrs Brown, who were his parents in-law and my grandparents, and who lived at number 59] had a shaking up.

The worst part came at night I had just left for home + got to Canal Bridge when the sirens started, I ran for a dugout in Peckham Park Rd and the experience all South London had to suffer was more than one could go through mare than once we had bombs dropping every five minutes and I should say there are marks of the raid in nearly every road in SE London, at home they had another on drop at the entrance of the church in Verney Rd Ilderton Rd every shop has been hit all Rotherhithe New Road thder are hundreds of people killed or injured when the all clear sounded at 5 o/c I had to walk home and about every hundred yards along OK Rd {Old Kent Road] had been bombed so you can imagine my feeling as what to expect in Brockley, the first signs came when reaching St Katherine’s [St Catherine’s church Hatcham in Pepys Road SE14] our church got 2 bombs and is a reck [sic] Vesta Rd 2 houses and a number of incendiary bombs in Drakefell [Road parallel to St Asaph], St Asaph [our home road] Avignon [a road intersecting with St Asaph] etc. one dropped outside Pattons [next door neighbours] but was a dud what luck.

Well my dear it has given us all a good shaking and are dreading tonight. I can now understand why the government wanted to keep the children away, and am pleased you an Francis have not had to face our terror.

Well God Bless you both and may we all be safed [sic] to be united after this dreadful affair.

Lots of Love Frank XXXXXXXXX
X The Boy [me his son!]

My father in common with many others used expressions learned in WW1. For instance ‘dugout’ was a form of shelter in WW1 here it is used for a more formal structure. Jerry was a nick-name for Germans not least because it was also the nick-name of the bedroom chamber pots formerly used in homes without indoor lavatories. The enemy were also referred to as ‘he’ again a WW1 form.

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