WHEN WE WERE YOUNG

I remember when ..................
I was a student at Lowther Hall when Arthur Stubbs and I were the only boys in the class and the school suggested to our parents that we should leave for another school. It was time, and soon after we were enrolled at Essendon Grammar School, where I spent the next eight years. The reason for being at a mainly Girls’ school was the fact that this was in the early 1940’s, and our parents wanted us at school with our sisters because there were plans to evacuate Essendon children to the Dandenongs and our parents wanted us to be together there in the evacuation area.
Talk of evacuation must seem strange to the next generation, but it was no small thing then. We had haversacks packed and ready, because there was a realistic fear that Australia would be invaded by the Japanese [we did not know then how serious the Darwin bombings had been]. It was particularly important for children in the Essendon- Footscray areas to be ready because we were close to the Aerodrome and the Munitions factory, which would be prime targets in the event of enemy air raids.

Speaking of enemy air raids reminds me of the precautions that we had to take to prepare for aerial attack. We had to dig trenches in our backyards. Dad did the hard work, but we have some film footage showing me being his little helper, at the age of 5 or 6. That trench was about six feet deep, it was covered by earth resting on corrugated iron, and in wet weather it would become very muddy. Later on Dad bought an above ground shelter built of curved concrete and located in the fernery between the wash house and Wilsons’ fence. Each community had a voluntary group of helpers, known as Air Raid Wardens, who wore tin hats marked with the bold, black letters A.R.P. They had responsibility for enforcing blackouts, for informing people about defence requirements and for running training sessions on the Essendon Oval. We have a film of one of these training occasions and it always reminds me of Dad’s Army. I still have a vivid memory of one morning at home hearing our neighbour, Mrs. Wilson, calling out , “They’ve come, they’ve come!!.” This outburst was occasioned by some anti aircraft shots being fired at a single unidentified plane which was feared to be an enemy intruder. We scurried for the trench, but the fear soon passed. It later turned out that it was a friendly plane, but it must have neglected to conform to some established protocol.

As I look back over some of the books I was reading and drawings I was doing at that time, I am struck by the concentration upon aeroplanes and bombs and bullets. There are Spitfires and Hurricanes and Flying Fortresses taking on the German Junkers and Heinkels and Messerschmidts and lots of fiery explosions. No doubt my interest was quickened by the fact that during the war we had, from time to time, two R.A.F. men staying with us during their leave. Don McKenzie was a member of ground staff and Barras Todd was a pilot. What an exciting experience for a little 6 year old boy. Indeed ,what an experience for the whole family!