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I was six years old when the war started. Born in Hampshire, 12 miles from Winchester, 4 miles from Southampton, we had tanks parked all down the lane outside our house - under the hedges and in the ditches, waiting for D-Day. We used to walk down the road and the soldiers gave us sweets and chewing gum.

We had to walk to school and if the air-raid warning went during school time, the ARP warden would come in to tell us to take shelter. We went to a cloakroom that had no windows, to avoid glass. We always carried our gas masks and had a few sweets tucked in the box. During the air-raid, we would sing songs until the all clear went.

During daylight raids on Southampton, German planes came out over the country and dropped bombs. One wet day with very low cloud, we were on the way home from school with friends when a German plane came overhead and we thought it might machine gun us and we had to jump in the ditch.

I was crying and very frightened. I will never forget it.

P M Penny

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