BOMBING OF THE UNDERGROUND AIR RAID SHELTER LORDSHIP RECREATION GROUND (KNOWN AS THE REC) DOWNHILLS ENTRANCE -
EVENING 19TH SEPTEMBER 1940 TESTIMONY OF FAY BARBARA GRANT (nee SIMMONS)
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I was born 20th
February 1936. I lived with my parents,
David and Gertrude Simmons, and two older brothers (Leslie and Edgar-Eddy) at 62 Downhills
Park Road, Tottenham, N17. My parents
were longstanding residents of the area, having moved into no. 62 in 1928, and knew many
of their neighbours. When the Shelter was opened in The Rec it was
decided that my mother and I would go there to sleep, whereas my father and Eddy would
sleep in the cupboard under the stairs of no. 62.
I should explain that the cupboard under the stairs was considered the
safest place in the house in the event of a direct hit by a bomb. My brother Leslie was already serving in the
army in 1940 RAOC (Royal Army Ordnance Cops) regiment, and was therefore not living
at home. Each evening my mother and I would go to the
Shelter at approximately 6.30pm. My
father would visit us around 10.00 at night and bring us a flask of cocoa. He would then return home to sleep and come
back to collect us at around 6.30-7.00am the following morning. The Shelter regulars like us - had their
own special spot where they normally slept. When
my mother and I arrived at the Shelter on the night 19th September our spot was
already occupied by three nuns in black habits; my
mother, out of respect for them, did not like to ask them to move so we sat opposite them. The seating in the Shelter consisted of wooden
slatted benches. So that I should not
roll over and fall off during the night, my mother, using one of my fathers belts,
would wind it under the bench and then between the space of the bench and the wall and
then fasten the buckle. She would sit
next to me and try to sleep as best she could. On the night 19th September my father and Eddy were sleeping, as usual , under the stairs at no. 62. They later recalled that the house rocked and they felt the tremor. |
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After that they went back
to sleep. In
the Shelter I was suddenly woken up by my mother screaming and trying frantically to pull
me away from the wall but in her panic she could not undo the belt buckle which was
holding me strapped to the bench. I was
facing the wall which was painted blue and cream. It
was split diagonally from top to bottom and was coming towards me. |
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I do not remember any more of what happened in
the Shelter. However, I do remember
coming to in an ambulance, hearing sirens and noise, but nothing more until waking up in
hospital the following morning. The
nurse in charge said I was a very good girl as I had let her wash me. I had been violently sick, I expect from
shock. There was another child in the
ward, a little boy around three, definitely younger than me and he would not let the nurse
wash him. I think he was a survivor of
the bombing. Meanwhile my father had gone to collect us, as
usual, in the morning to be confronted with Police, Firemen, Ambulances and to be told
there had been a direct hit by a bomb which had lodged in the escape hatch and exploded
and they were now digging out the bodies. My
fathers reaction to this news can be imagined.
He was further told that the survivors had been taken to various
hospitals. Men, women and children were
taken to different hospitals and he should tour the hospitals in an attempt to locate us. Father rushed home, collected Eddy and, after
visiting several hospitals found my mother in the Prince of Wales. (I always thought she was found in the North
Middlesex but, according to Eddy it was certainly the Prince of Wales). Mother was hysterical, screaming,
My little girl, my little girl. She
was wearing a blue coat and hat, repeatedly.
I had, in fact, been wearing a pale blue wool coat with a navy velvet
collar and a pale blue matching poke bonnet. This
is the outfit I had been sick over. My
parents found me in the childrens ward of St. Annes Hospital. I still remember my mother coming into the
ward her face scarlet and swollen from crying to three times its normal size. My mother was so traumatised that she could not
go back to no. 62 and for the next four months we lived with my mothers brother,
wife and family; they had a large house in
Stamford Hill. Eventually we did return home to face the rest of the War. There was no trauma counselling in those days you just had to get on with it. About twenty five years later my mother began to suffer terrible from psychosomatic illness, directly we suspected, as a result of the bomb in the Shelter. She frequently said she knew people who had lost relatives in the Shelter but I cannot remember names being mentioned. She said the nuns who had been in our spot had been killed but thought only about 9 in all had been killed tragically this was a great underestimate. One thing she was adamant about was that all the bodies had not been recovered, but had been left in situ. She repeated this each time we went past the site. I remember much of my childhood years, during the war the railings being removed from Downhills Park and all the gates from people's houses. We luckily had a wooden gate so it did not affect us. The old Water Tower up the Road, which was later used by the Home Guard around the balcony at the top from where you could see for miles. My late mother had no inkling of the number of fatalities. As I have previously mentioned,she always said around 9 yet she was convinced there were bodies not removed and she always maintained this thought. I never placed much credence to this until I read the enclosed article in 'The Times@ Friday 24th July 2009 - but perhaps she was right all along! She also said she knew some of the victims but I cannot recall her mentioning any names. I have never forgotten what happened and I never will ! October 2009 |
Water Tower - Downhills Park Road |