Relinque Road. 1938-1948

[Amuffin]

We lived as a family at 29 Relinque Road which was attached to the Mission Hall next door. (Emannuel Hall.) And my father was the missionary (London City Mission)
I was 4 years old when we moved in. Relinque road was a working class area of Terrace houses some of the inhabitants worked at the Gas Works in Bell Green.
My upbringing was interrupted by the blitz when I and my sister were evacuated to Paignton in Devon along with a number of school friends from Adamsrill Road Junior School.Having returned home in 1943 the next noticeable event was the Doodle Bug (Flying Bomb) which fell between Relinque and Porthcawe Road sometime in the Autumn of 1944
The bomb fell in early evening as we were going to bed in our Andersen shelter. My Mother and I were waiting outside the shelter whilst my sisters were getting ready for bed when we heard the distinctive sound of the V1 engine which to my mothers horror stopped directly above our heads. She threw me down the steps and came tumbling in afterwards. However the bomb continued on its trajectory and fell between Relinque and Porthcawe houses with a dull thud and violent vibration.
When we came out the air was full of dust and all our window frames and ceilings were lying in a heap. Our house (which is still standing) was protected by the terraced houses in the road which were shattered. I have no idea how many people died.
The main services soon arrived and there were many calls for silence to listen for survivors.
As a boy I was delighted when the following day the WRVS canteen arrived and I could have as many corned beef sandwiches as I could eat.
Needless to say we children were all evacuated again this time to Birmingham staying there until after the Victory in Europe street party when we returned home.
Many of our neighbours were now living in prefabricated homes
I am sorry I do not have any photographs of this period.

[Eileenrose]

Hello there very interesting I was born in Whinchfield Rd in 1943 and was evacuated to Devon with my mother and brother, your account was exactly what my father told us later when I was older, I also went to Adamsrill school and later to Kilmorie school at Forest Hill. I now live in Aussie since 1965 but was last in London 2013 I still love London and hope to return in 2016 Eileenrose