Podcast episodes
Series 01: Adolf Hitler, his bombers - and me Direct link to purchase the accompanying book on Amazon Episode 01: Overview Episode 02: The Rise of Adolf Hitler Episode 03: Build-up to War Episode 04: Preparing for the Bombers Episode 05: Bomb Shelters Episode 06: Communal Shelters Episode 07: Evacuated to Folkestone Episode 08: Hitler Invades France Episode 09: Dunkirk: Britain Retreats from France Episode 10: Churchill and the Welsh Miners Episode 11: Evacuated to Wales Episode 12: A London Vaccy in Wales Episode 13: The war becomes real Epis…
S01 - E33: In Memoriam
In an emotional final episode to the series, Eric pays tribute to his parents and sister, and explains how he has helped to ensure the impact of war on ordinary people is not forgotten.
S01 - E32: VE Day and afterwards
Victory in Europe. Britain and Germany were no longer at war. Eric was curious, as a child, when he met a German prisoner of war in the years before they were repatriated and, as an adult, was happy to meet people from the former enemy nation when travelling in Europe and elsewhere. Yet in several unexpected encounters, the trauma of the bombing came rushing back, showing how long bad memories can last.
S01 - E31: Official Inquiries
How did Hitler's bomber make it past London's air defences to bomb Sandhurst Road School on 20 January 1943? Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered an inquiry to find out.
S01 - E30: Why Bomb a School?
Even though Hitler's air force was regularly attacking London and other targets in the UK at the time, the country was still shocked by the deliberate bombing of Sandhurst Road School. Eric explains the apparent reasons for targeting six schools that day and how the pilot responsible described his mission to the German newsreel.
S01 - E29: Constant Reminders
The injuries Eric suffered at nine years old in the bombing of Sandhurst Road School have affected his whole life, impacting on his National Service and employment. Even the experimental treatment he received as a child would have unwanted side effects decades later.
S01 - E28: Living with the Injuries
When he left hospital, Eric had the choice of attending a "normal" school or a "handicapped" school. He chose a normal school, where students did not have the same idea of a "fair fight" and his French teacher queried whether he could become anything other than a beggar.
S01 - E27: Doodle Bug Alley
Hitler was deploying new terror weapons by the time Eric was sent home from hospital to a part of London known as Doodle Bug Alley. The V1 Flying Bomb and V2 Rocket were precursors to the cruise missile and Saturn V rocket to the moon, respectively. Adolf Hitler was again trying to kill him.
S01 - E26: The Wooden Box
After returning home from hospital, Eric tried to find out more about the bombing of Sandhurst Road School and the death of his sister, Kitty. His parents reluctance to talk demonstrates how traumatised they had been by the events. Then one day Eric's mother called him upstairs, brought a wooden box out of the wardrobe, unlocked it and went through the contents with him.
S01 - E25: Home from Hospital
After 18 months in hospital, an unfamiliar woman and small boy arrived to take Eric home. He was back with his family. Soon he and his brother, Eddie, were tracking Hitler's latest weapon, the V1 Flying Bomb, passing overhead, as they sat on the roof of their Anderson Shelter in Doodle Bug Alley.
S01 - E24: The Three Letters
The bombing of Sandhurst Road School not only killed Eric's sister, Kitty, it led to his mother having a breakdown and his brother going into care, while he spent 18 months in various hospitals, adjusting to living with his injuries. His father later told him of returning from work one day to find three letters in their empty home, which encapsulated what they faced at that time.
S01 - E23: Life in Hospital
After being evacuated for three years at the beginning of the Second World War, Eric had just four months at home before being seriously injured in the Sandhurst Road School bombing. His life in hospital then began.
S01 - E22: The Terrors
Adolf Hitler's war machine nearly killed Eric when it bombed his school when he was nine years old. Aside from his physical injuries, certain situations filled him with terror - until a friendly soldier and his mother listened to his fears.
S01 - E21: ACC and KCC
Pulled out from under the rubble of the bombed Sandhurst Road School, Eric awoke in Lewisham Hospital with a smashed ankle and paralysed arm. The investigation and treatment of his injuries began, starting with electric shocks.
S01 - E20: The Funeral
If you visit Hither Green Cemetery you will find a communal grave with the memorial plaque, "Sacred to the memory of the 38 children and 6 teachers who were killed when Sandhurst Road School was bombed by a lone German aeroplane on Wednesday, 20 January 1943". The media reported that 7000 people attended the funeral and Eric's parents are pictured leading the bereaved. Eric recalls the traumatic meeting that took place by chance some time afterwards between his mother and the foster parents who had looked after his sister, Kitt…
S01 - E19: Aftermath of the Bombing
Pulled from the rubble of Sandhurst Road School, Eric stares from a photo taken for a newsreel report, seriously injured. His mother visited every day, but could not face telling him the news about his sister, Kitty.
S01 - E18: Under the Rubble
The bomb hit Sandhurst Road School at about 12:30 on 20 January 1943 bringing three stories down on Eric and other children in the dining hall. Rescuers rushed to the scene and Eric's parents had an agonising wait for news about him and his sister, Kitty.
S01 - E17: The Bombing of Sandhurst Road School
Eric recalls how a lone German bomber got through to bomb Sandhurst Road School on 20 January 1943 and the moment when, sheltering under a table in the dining hall, he saw the school collapsing on him and his sister.
S01 - E16: Meanwhile, in London...
While Eric and Kitty were evacuated from London for three years at the start of the Second World War, his parents and young brother back in London were faced with the Blitz. Eric describes what happened during that time and the signs of war he found when he and Kitty returned.
S01 - E15: Kitty's time in Wales
Eric's sister, Kitty, enjoyed her life as an evacuee in Wales. Their mother had sent them away from London to be safe, but when she visited as the months stretched into years, she keenly felt the distance from her daughter.
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