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I was 12 years old when war broke out and living at Merrow Croft, Epsom Road, Guildford(my Father was the gardener/handyman there) in the bungalow in the grounds. Merrow Croft no longer exists. My name is Mr Harold Anthony May and I now live at Haslemere. Good luck with the project as I think it is important that these things are kept for future generations.

Memories of the 1939-45 war.Guildford area.
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1. Late summer 1940 probably around early Sept walking back to school in Merrow St (I used to go home for dinner) about 1 o'clock, about halfway down Merrow St there used to be a duck pond on the left, suddenly I heard a noise as I thought of approaching tanks, then looking up saw box formations of Nazi bombers very high up and then the sound of woof-woof and black puffs of AA fire appeared round them. A car driven by a man stopped and he got out and made several of us boys (I was about 12-13 at the time) dive for cover flat on the ground at the side of the pond under trees. Looking up I heard the whine of fighters diving and saw the trails in the sky at the same time hearing the rat-at tat-tat of cannons. This lasted for only a minute of time as the fight moved on away to the North towards London.

2. At Merrow School we had a large underground shelter in the garden and on afternoon at school all of us having to troop into the shelter prior warning given that a German land mine which had landed near the railway line by the bridge (now over Park Lane) was going to be detonated. A big bang, the shelter shaking and after school rushing down to the scene to pick up fragments of it. This was probably about 1941.

3. A stick of bombs being dropped on Merrow Downs Golf course near Downsway and going up there the following morning seeing the craters and picking up fragments of bomb.

4. 1944 wintertime going outside of our house The Bungalow at Merrow Croft with my Dad in the dark probably about 7-8pm and seeing a Doodlebug going overhead with the white flame shooting out the back and the throaty roar of the engine suddenly stopping and in the silence which followed it seeing it glide on towards the North over the trees at the bottom of the orchard.

5. Being on ARP duty in the Municipal Offices Guildford all night ( I was a Messenger) and the Chief Warden a Mr Spink, and hearing loud explosions and taking shelter under a huge wooden table.

6. Going down Aldersey Rd, Guildford and seeing the damage a Doodlebug had done to a house and the Fire Engines still there.

7. Collecting "Window" (metal strips of foil dropped by the bombers to confuse Radar) which had landed in the grounds of Merrow Croft where we lived.

8. One Saturday morning probably just before dinner and probably about 1944-45 some Mustang fighters passing overhead towards the West (Guildford) and one of the Mustangs on the outside right veering out in a semi circle and coming back in and colliding with the one on the immediate left, both aircraft broke up and spiralled down leaving lots of floating debris gradually drifting down. Later established that both Pilots were killed one landing in Stoke Park and the engine of one Mustang crashing down the side of a house in Stoke Road.

9. Lying in bed at Merrow Croft wintertime probably about 1943 in the middle of the night waking up hearing the drone of an aircraft identifying it as a German because of the "wah-we-wah-we " of the engine note and then after it had died away the Air Raid sirens going off "rather late"! followed about a quarter of an hour later by the All Clear.

10. Probably in the late Autumn of 1940 seeing one afternoon a low level German bomber believed to be a Dornier 217 at about 2-300 feet banking round in a circle and hearing machine gun fire. Afterwards heard that the bullets had hit the Laundry in Warren Road, Guildford.

11. During the evenings of 1942-3 seeing dozens of Lancasters, Stirlings and Halifax bombers at high level (12000 feet) flying out North to South on raids on Germany.

12. 1945 again seeing low level Doodlebugs flying South to North away to the East under the heavy clouds and rain one morning.

13. One Saturday morning waking up to AA fire and the crump of bombs as Luftwaffe bombers carried out another raid on Vickers at Weybridge.

14. In the Spring of 1945 suddenly hearing a different sound in the sky and seeing for the first time a two engined jet fighter now known as the Gloster Meteor.

15. One Spring morning in a brilliant blue sky seeing a flash of silver high up falling fast and hearing a large "crump" and later hearing it was a V2 rocket which fell on Walton-on-Thames this was 1945.

16. First winter of 1939-40 the local Policeman believed Sgt George Thayre coming round in the evenings checking the blackout and telling us he could still see a light and to put it out.

17. Going up onto Merrow Downs and on clear days able to see the hundreds of Barrage balloons around London, the closest ones starting about Cobham.

18. Billy Hooper (my half sister Eva's husband) used to drive a lorry with aircraft propellers on it and sometimes if he had a local job he would call at Merrow Croft and pick me up and I would go with him in the lorry.

19. On the day war broke out Friday 1st September 1939 my mother decided to go and visit her Father and Mother (Grandad and Grandma Randall) at The Chestnuts, Allbrook Hill, Eastleigh. In those days it was possible to catch a Royal Blue Saloon Coach from the Cattle Market, Woodbridge Road, Guildford right through to Allbrook Hill.(The coach went on to Bournemouth) While the coach was in the garage at Bournemouth the fitters dimmed the headlights (i.e fitted a metal cowl over them with three slits, this was part of the blackout procedures announced by the Government) so on return to Guildford that night we had an horrendous journey because the lights were so poor that the driver couldn't see where he was going, I remember we swerved jolted stopped suddenly all the way home and we were hours late arriving back at Guildford. All the buses had stopped, no taxis so we had to walk home all the way from the Cattle market to Merrow. My Father was almost hysterical wondering what had happened to us. As we were walking past Cross Lanes along the Epsom Road, everything black, no cars etc, suddenly a Policeman stepped out in front of us from the telephone box there and asked us who we were, nearly frightened me to death. I think we got home some where about 2am.

20. On the Sunday 3rd September 1939, I remember the wireless saying repeatedly "an important announcement would be made at 11 o'clock" and then I heard the chimes of Big Ben and the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain saying "I have to inform you that no such declaration has been received and consequently this country is in a state of war with Germany" Shortly after the broadcast ended the air raid sirens went off and we all rushed out to see if we could see anything (the exact opposite to what we should have done!) but the warning only lasted about 15 minutes.

21. There was large P.O.W camp built on Merrow Downs quite near the Golf Club and the first prisoners were Italians who used to wear a large yellow circle,square or triangle on their backs to distinguish them. It was quite common to see them strolling about and later some of them were put to work as gardeners in some of the larger houses. Later German POWs inhabited the camp. It remained there for some time after the war ended

There were a number of evacuees from London during the war and some lessons were transferred to Merrow Village Hall. One evacuee was called Seymour, another was Stan Lush, 6 Elm Grove,Thatcham. Merrow Croft was owned by the Church Army who used it as a holiday home for Mothers and children from the poorer parts of London. They used to come by Safeguard coaches for a fortnight at a time.

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