Bethnal Green in Wartime

Daniel Konopka

A childhood remembered

I do not remember too much about the beginning of the War only when Bethnal Green was bombed that we children to be evacuated. September 1940 was the real start, 95 high explosive bombs, two parachute mines and thousands of incendiary bombs hit the Borough. So children, pregnant women and old and infirm were evacuated, but a number ( me included) did not like their new surroundings so they drifted back. When I was put on the doorstep by a Policeman, my Mother took it in her stride as though it was a normal event. Our 'house'No.22 was in a terrace, we were on the ground floor and the other street door at right angles to ours led up to two flats above.

St. Paul's church across the road had taken a hit but a small part was still intact so we were able to use it. The bombed area became another play area for us children. After the war the church ran some good outings to Chessington Zoo.

Before our street shelter was built, we would go in our coal cupboard which was under the stairs or hide under our substantial kitchen table. We did not know any different. We would stand at our street door at nights watching the searchlights and listen for the siren warning, also we would hear the 'doodlebugs come over and and when they stopped we would get back inside quickly.

Often next morning on our way to school we found pieces of shrapnel (some still hot) or pieces of fuselage from the planes and would carve them into all sorts of playthings. Schools in those days were all in one, you started at 3 years old and left at 14. It was after the war that schools were split into Junior and Senior units, which meant I had to change schools.

Firewood was never a shortage, so after school or weekends we would go to the bombed houses and remove whatever we could, chop it into pieces and sell bundles of firewood to the residents. Ah yes east enders can always find ways of making some money. An even easier way of selling firewood was when the Government decided to remove all the tar blocks from the roads ( The wooden blocks were around the size of a building brick, laid on the road and covered with tar) The reason being that the incendiary bombe were making it difficult to put out fires in the roads. So it was easier for us to remove some these blocks and chop them so make it easier to light the fires indoors.

An abiding memory is of the times when we were playing on a 'debris' (we gave this name to all the bombed sites) and of the policeman who patrolled our streets. He was ginger-haired and we sang a song about his hair and he would give chase but never caught us. We thought we were too quick for him, but next day on our way to school he would be on duty, which meant a detour to get there. Next day, no sign of him but the next as we turned the corner he would be there. Now in those days, we had 'short back and sides haircuts' so there was not much to get hold but he did and our heads would go from side to side as he told us off. It was not until some later that I realised that he could have caught us anytime.

Why is it that even at a young age we think we are cleverer than grown-ups?....