Account of an Air Raid on Brighton Saturday Afternoon 14 September 1940 [at] approximately 3pm

I don't remember when the air raid warning went but heard what sounded like cannon (machine cannon which had been heard before during dog fights over the town).

As I stood at the door opening to the yard 'cannon fire' very loud; heard some things falling, and thinking these might be empty shells went in - as I did so I heard a bang definitely very loud and close, quickly land on face in scullery floor and put head under sink - another bang preceded by a whistle about one second long - all within ten seconds. Heard more stuff coming down - glass and rubble - heard mother shout 'yes OK' and shouted myself 'OK mother'. Mother came out and we met in the kitchen. Shouts from father upstairs, mother said to me 'go up and see if guests are alright' (bedridden invalid and her husband were the blind customers of the family boarding house) Did: found father in shirt and pants with head round number 4 door. 'They're OK. That one missed our turning.'

Went down leaving father talking. Mother said that some of our windows were gone - go up and see: rushed up, looked in nearly all the rooms. Saw from number nine window on top landing a tall column of smoke rising in St George's Terrace direction. Rushed down very fast, planes audible when I got to basement. Mother with neighbour on hall floor, advised them to go down and they did to basement, found camera and exposure calculation. Argued a bit with mother about going out. Father down in basement by then. Went out into area and up steps, saw people on their steps, came back (may have heard a plane) in area found a bomb fragment still too hot to hold - which shown to mother and neighbour retained its heat a long while.

Wandered into area and up steps and up slowly to St James Street, where on the corner glass from Second Hand Shop in the road. Walked towards the direction of the smoke ie along St James Street, a few smashed shop windows along it: at the bottom of Bedford St I saw wreckage across the road and walked towards it. Appeared to be a direct hit on Clapham's Baker's Shop - thought poor old Clapham. APR and Police and other people running around. Two men covered with blood sitting on left hand pavement groaning and being attended to by unskilled friends. Argument over getting an ambulance or taking them to First Aid post. People running into remains of shop, went over to try to help. Didn't know how to start and there were plenty there.

Saw bloke about 19 I knew by sight for 15 years crying etc. Supposed his people hit, felt no sympathy, but only wanted him to shut up. Saw ambulance coming, wandered further up and looked along Hereford St, another bomb there, thought of girlfriend and walked up to Coalbrook Rd and looked: all OK in her terrace; went back, warden stopped me going down Bedford Place again, went along Eastern Rd, where many broken windows and down Lavender St houses in Hereford St damaged warden ask through broken windows 'all OK in there'. Woman's voice, 'young lady injured, not serious' and he went on further.

Wandered around again looking at damage, Lavender St, Essex St along to Bedford St wrecked. Into Bedford St, wounded gone, blood about on the pavements, scarred walls. Hung about a bit and then saw friend and father going off to hospital (I then had a job overnight as night stretcher bearer - auxiliary fireman at the hospital).

When we were at the hospital told 'this is no use she's gone' - or something like that - another - that doesn't matter 'take her in', and we did and put her on a space on the floor and left her. Then I think another worker turned up and asked sister and we took another dead woman on a wood and canvas stretcher out of a room behind the main hall out onto a barrow and wheeled this across the road, where bumping it swayed unpleasantly up to the mortuary. Having brought out two others, wheeled trolleys and turned her over onto one from the stretcher, then back again on a second trip. I had the legs end, which were a pale pasty flesh colour with the back part of the left leg shattered at the knee and being just meat. Took her in, stuffed some corpses closer together on mortuary floor and cleared up to make room for a lot more.

Went back to FAP and a worker asked in a whisper for more deceased and nurse said she didn't know but she didn't think so - felt strangely disappointed - the nurse 'oh yes, there are two children in there'.

Went into room behind the main hall and two small, still bodies on stretchers, picked up the nearer - a girl - carried her out in the same way and up to the mortuary. She bumped and swayed a bit on the way across the road so I said 'be careful or she'll be in the road and we shall be in the soup'. He said 'yes, we shall by God. Dumped her down on the mortuary floor close to the others. Uncovered her face and had a look at her.

Elementary school girl, her face a little dirty with some dried blood on it and skin a queer soft waxy colour. Came away to get the other. When we got there there was a nurse and a couple of men wanting either to take it - a little boy about 8-9 years out the back way or cover him up better with the blanket or get another. After much talk saw a blanket on the stretcher and the boy was covered. 'His mother out there, she's hurt, we want to spare her the shock of seeing him like this', carted out dead through a hall full of injured. Shifted him out the back anyway down an awkward flight of stairs, after a lot more talk up to the mortuary and so on doing similar job all the afternoon.

Was taking the barrow down just after this when a light van, with Ambulance on it in red, drove up and we directed it and helped it back towards the mortuary: two more, built to take four, two per side. Moved the lower one on side first. Then the second one higher up was a job and while doing it grazed the thumb and finger of my hand.

First one was a very heavy old woman, second a man - only knew from the stockings, shoes and trousers, as they were covered and left them so. Thumb was bleeding, asked where I could get some antiseptic - First Aid Post - but wasn't going to worry them when they'd got near dead folk needing attention. Thought of nurse on duty in nearby Howard Ward and she fixed it with iodine, tho' said I should go over to FAP as if wound turned septic she was responsible. Saw dead woman I'd lifted into FAP brought into mortuary. In there in the chapel, which seemed to be thought a terrible thing, was a man with a dark blue tin hat on the stretcher with FAP on. There was a small hole torn thro' the rim of the helmet - three thicknesses at the edge. 'His tin hat didn't save him'.

Recurrent thought quite without any joy of memory of girlfriend, wondering where she was and if OK and imagining, almost at times unemotionally, her looking like these people, thought going from enlarging portraits of a girlfriend to carrying corpses about was a bit of a contrast.

Later in FAP - a bit cleaner - saw a woman (Civil Defence) clearing up blood patches from the parquet floor - thought what a bloody waste of time - she could be doing something more useful.

Saw someone, a fool I'd often given lines to at school, with a dozen cuts to his face, daubed with yellow iodine, looking like a hero; swearing 'bloody shame, our shop ruined'. Much later saw his arm in a sling, got splinter in it, not serious apparently. FAP being cleared. I went to friends room in hospital for 'cuppertea', which was welcome and good. Then after some other things I suppose, I don't remember - home looking at damage on the way. The all clear from the lethal raid had gone two thirds of the way through and another warning gone, so had stopped at the hospital until all clear again. (Had not previously seen a corpse, hence the interest in them).

This extract is taken from 'Brighton behind the Front' and is reproduced with the permission of the Trustees of the Mass-Observation Archive, the University of Sussex.