Skip to content | Privacy and cookies | Accessibility | Site map | Search
Memories of War: new narratives and untold stories
Home > About us > Contributors > Geoffrey Turner >
Browse the site
About us
Great War Greenwich
British Prisoners of War
Evacuation
Home Front
The Armed Forces
The London Blitz
Women at War
Films

Geoffrey Turner

Recollections of growing up in wartime Greenwich

Photo:Geoffrey pictured next to the family's Anderson shelter.

Geoffrey pictured next to the family's Anderson shelter.

Geoffrey Turner

Geoffrey Turner spent the majority of the war in Greenwich where he lived with his parents and his older brother. The risk of bombing was severe in the area and as both his mother and father were deaf, Geoffrey and his brother had to warn their parents of air raid warnings and other dangers. Geoffrey recalls that on one occasion a parachute bomb landed near the family’s house. The blast of the bomb blew in the back window and as a result of flying glass from the blast Geoffrey’s mother suffered head wounds.

Initially the family sheltered inside under the stairs or a table but eventually ‘my father dug out a pit and erected an Anderson Shelter, then covered it with earth, four wooden bunks, quite smelly & damp, but safer’. Occasionally Geoffrey accompanied his grandmother to a public shelter in Greenwich Park protected by barrage balloons.

Although the war ended in 1945, remnants of war were part of life for many years after. Geoffrey recalls ‘We played in the derelict buildings for years, dangerous but fun. The scrap metal merchant's yards by the river were full of rats and machine gun belts, some live ammunition’.

To read more about Geoffrey's wartime experiences in his own words please press the below link.

Photo:Geoffrey pictured with his mother and brother. The family's Anderson shelter can be seen in the background.
Photo:Geoffrey pictured with his brother in Weymouth in 1945 on their first family holiday after the war.
Downloads

Early Memories Aged 0-5
Early Memories Aged 0-5 (6k)
To read more about Geoffrey's wartime experiences in his own words please press the above link.

This gallery was added by Malin Lundin on 20/07/2013.
Tweet
Comments have been temporarily disabled while we update the site.
 
More about...
Contributors
  • Memories of life as an evacuee in Devon.
  • Recollections of life as a Royal Marines Commando.
  • Recollections of service in North Africa, Italy and Yugoslavia.
  • Recollections of growing up in wartime Greenwich
  • Recollections of wartime in Kent.
  • Memories of life in the ATS.
  • Recollections of evacuation to New York and service in Burma.
 
 
See also...
  • Recollections of the Home Front
 
 
Featured items
Advert: Great War Greenwich
Great War Greenwich
Read about our new project here
Advert: Teaching and Learning Resources
Teaching and Learning Resources
Explore our free educational resources
Advert: Editor's pick of the month
Editor's pick of the month
A collection of letters from Joan and John McCauley

Memories of War > http://www.memoriesofwar.org.uk/

  • About us
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Terms of use
Website by Community Sites
Sponsor logos University of Greenwich Southwark Local History Libary Lewisham Local History and Archive Centre Greenwich Heritage Centre Firepower Royal Artillery Museum Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre