The Day War Broke Out

You Tube is amazing. I have found a clip of Robb Wilton a comic actor I used to listen to on the wireless. One of his funniest monologues begins "The Day War Broke Out". It still makes me laugh.

As far as I was concerned the day war broke out, 3rd September 1939, found me sitting on a tram going to Brixton Hill in London. Suddenly the most eerie wailing sound filled the air and the tram came to an abrupt halt. The driver, conductor and passengers got off so I thought I had better follow. I was only sixteen . I didn't want to get bombed and anyway I had to get to Civil Defence HQ and relieve my opposite number who had been on duty all night. I was conscientous, I was also scared stiff. I started to run. The idea that the war would not be won unless I was in my appointed place was soon scotched by a tall thin policeman who ordered me to go to the nearest air raid shelter. He wouldn't take no for an answer so I spent the first half hour of the war sitting with a lot of strangers in the basement shelter of the New Century Window Cleaning Company of Brixton wondering if I would be shot for derilection of duty.

After what seemed ages the "All Clear" sounded and I was able to continue my journey to the Brixton College where my opposite number at the telephone was waiting to go home. It was our job to send messages to five south London boroughs so they could co-ordinate their resources, e.g. fire, ambulances. heavy lifting gear etc. in the event of an air raid so that the best use could be made of them by assisting each other.
There was abit of excitement when the telephone warning "Air Raid message Yellow" came through. If a plane flew over London it would be "Air Raid message Red". Yellow was a preliminary warning. Some old sweat from the First World War must have thought yellow meant mustard gas . Panic Stations ! He handed out gas masks saying "Never mind the work,girls, save yourselves" However our young British girls were made of sterner stuff and put on their gas masks and continued working. They phoned the Town Halls wearing their gas masks. This made it somewhat difficult for the operator at the other end to understand what was said and caused further confusion. Fortunately the "All Clear" solved that difficulty.