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I was sixteen in 1943, I lived with my mother and little sister in Uxbridge. Dad was in the army.Imagine our suprise when we were told that a lady and her son were to be billetted on us:we were only about seventeen miles from Marble Arch! One day she received a letter from her council office, to say that her house had been damaged and would she call on them. she had no idea how to get there, neither had I but I offered to take them.
We travelled on the Great Western Line to Paddington but were side traked to another station, but along came German planes and machine gunned us. On reaching London with dozens of barage balloons overheadthe sirens sounded and the Police and ARP. wardens ordered us into the public air raid shelter. We were in a basement, on looking around discovered that we were standing near and many people sitting on hundreds of drums of paint, so much for safety!
We finaly reached the offices and she attended to her affairs and we decided to travel home by underground train thinking it would be safer. We had not gone far when the train stopped and the lights went out, a darkness never to be forgotten was about us. There was no sound but I think we were all thinking about a reported happening on the underground. Shortly before this when the floodgates had been closed on an underground line and the train was trapped between two sets of gates.The passengers were all reported drowned. I have no idea how long we were there, you lose all sense of time in the total darkness. We eventually arrived home thinking that you don't have to be in the forces to experience excitement and danger!

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