A bit about Beckenham and Penge:  Penge is a working-class area of South London, and was the most heavily bombed square mile of London after the East End.  It borders the leafy suburb of Beckenham, which is in the county of Kent. 

Some words you may not be familiar with:

The Blitz:  The German bombing campaign against London and other British cities which took place between September 1940 and May 1941 is called the blitz.  During this period, London was bombed nearly every night.  About 20,000 people died in London alone during the blitz.

Blackout:  From the time the war started in 1939, no lights were to be shown at night in case they were seen by German planes, thus showing the location of towns and cities.  Imagine being a pedestrian at night—cars’ headlights were masked and no streetlights shone.  Windows were covered with heavy blackout curtains so no chink of light would be visible from the outside.  Fines were imposed for breaking the blackout—even if it was by accident.  (Windows were criss-crossed with brown paper tape to prevent them shattering in an air raid.)

Air Raid Warden's Helmet

Air Raid Warden:  An air raid warden could be identified by the “W” on his or her steel helmet.  Wardens were responsible for sounding the air raid siren, helping people during and after a raid, reporting infringements of blackout regulations, reporting where bombs had fallen, etc.

Air Raid Siren:  The air raid siren undulated (like a police car’s siren).  The “all clear” was a steady tone.

This link will take you to the sound of an air raid siren and an all clear.  (You'll need Real Player installed on your computer.)

The Anderson survived (barely), but the houses didn't.

Air Raid Shelters:  There were various types and sizes of air raid shelters, only two of which are mentioned in this book.  The shelter at the school was buried under the front lawn and roofed in reinforced concrete.  Soil was placed on top, and a new lawn covered the whole thing.  If a family had their own garden, they were issued with an Anderson shelter, which was free to people on a low income.  The shelter, made of curved corrugated steel sheets bolted together at the top with steel plates at either end, was sunk three feet into the ground.  Eighteen inches of earth was placed on top of the shelter.  Usually the door consisted of a sheet of sackcloth.  The shelter was six feet six inches long, four feet six inches wide and six feet high in the middle.  They could withstand all but a direct hit.  As they had a nasty tendency to flood in rainy weather, some people preferred to take their chances in a downstairs room in their house or in the cupboard under the stairs.

Barrage Balloon

Barrage Balloons:  The purpose of these huge, blimp-shaped balloons was to discourage low-level fighting and pinpoint bombing.  They were moored by heavy steel cables, strong enough to destroy any plane that collided with them.  They could be quite dangerous to the local population if they caught fire or if their tethers broke.

Child's Ration Book

Rationing:  Most foods—including meat, bacon, butter, cheese, eggs, milk, sugar, tea, jam, biscuits, breakfast cereals, and canned fruit—were rationed.  Rations were controlled by issuing ration books to every person in the country.  The shopkeeper tore out the coupons in the book when an item was purchased.  Most people liked rationing, because for once, rich people ate no better than poor people.  The health of people on lower incomes actually improved because of the enforced balanced diet.  Rationing was not totally discontinued until 1954—nine years after the war ended.  Clothes were rationed starting in 1941.  Stockings were impossible to get, and so ladies would colour their legs with gravy browning and draw a “seam” down the back with an eyebrow pencil.  People were allowed five inches of water in their baths, so they drew a line around the inside of the tub to show this depth.

V1 (Doodlebug)

Doodlebugs:  These pilotless flying bombs (V1s) came along later in the war, in 1944.  They flew at 350 mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet.  When people on the ground heard the engine cut out, they knew the bomb was going to fall.  Later, V2s were invented.  These were rockets which flew at supersonic speed at an altitude of 50 miles and were programmed where to land.

Money:  Before decimalization (100 pennies in a pound) started in 1971, the pound was divided into 20 shillings.  There were 12 pennies in a shilling.  The smallest unit in 1940 was a farthing—a quarter of a penny.

Jerry, Jerries:  Slang for “Germans”

Council House:  Low income housing, ranging from flats (apartments), to terraced houses (row houses), and semi-detached houses.  The tall tower blocks are gradually being torn down in some areas, and are being replaced by friendlier low-rise blocks or houses.

Forms:  Secondary school in England starts in year (grade) seven.  Until quite recently, the years in secondary school were called forms.  Thus, year (grade) seven would be first form, year eight—second form, etc.  In the war, most people left school at age fourteen.