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Ted Prangnell

Childhood memories of growing up in wartime Kent.

Becoming aware of the war

Ted Prangnell was born in 1934 and spent the duration of the war with his family in Kemsing, Kent. Although Ted was only a young boy at the time, he quickly became aware of the war. He recalls:

‘My brother and I started to realise that something was up. I remember that the front door was open. There was a bit of a commotion outside, and we saw my parents in an agitated state, and pointing skywards, with outstretched arms. It was a bright and sunny day. Two or three aircraft were flying fairly low in the distance towards Sevenoaks. They didn't look very big, nor did they look at all threatening to me. When my parents realised that we were also outside, and trying to see what the excitement was all about, they hustled us back indoors in a panic. They insisted that we should each have a cork, from a bottle, and hold it between our teeth, and then we were told to stay under the enamel-topped kitchen table’.

'The Blitz of London was part of our experience'

The war was a constant presence in Ted’s life. Although it was London that suffered the heaviest bombardment during the Blitz, the areas surrounding the capital were also affected. Considering the impact of the Blitz, Ted comments:

‘The Blitz of London was part of our experience. We were only 25 miles from London, and must have been on the flight-path for many of the raids. The Blitz took place at night, and I believe it went on for 57 consecutive nights. Even to this day, if a propeller driven aircraft flies overhead at night, it still stirs those childhood memories of night bombing. As it also does to my German born wife; Mechtild: "It sounds like one of yours", we say to each other when we lay in bed at night, listening’.

Ted has written extensively about his wartime memories as a child growing up in Kent and his story can be read below. The story is accompanied by a number of illustrations created by Ted.

Photo:Photograph of Ted Prangnell (centre) with a friend and his brother. Ted is holding his cat, Monty.
Photo:Photograph of Ted Prangnell with his brother and two friends. Ted is pictured wearing a cap.
Photo:A photograph of Ted Prangnell dressed for cricket.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a map of Kemsing and the surrounding area.
Photo:A photograph of Ted with a dog. For some time, Ted was not allowed to have a dog due to food shortages.
Photo:A photograph of Ted Prangnell's father.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a crater created by a V1.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a V1 rocket flying into the wire of a barrage balloon.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. On winter evenings Ted sometimes helped his mother mend clothes. He also read books and played cards.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a fighter aircraft.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a fighter aircraft chasing a V1 rocket.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. Ted and his friends often played football with the men at the local barrage balloon station.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a large formation of Heinkel 111 bombers flying low over Kemsing Village.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts planes in the sky.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a German plane exploding in the air.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a bomber crew parachuting into the grounds of St Michael's School.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a Heinkel bomber in a paddock off Hollybush Road.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts Ted in the garden of his family's home watching a Messerschmitt 109.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts Ted running for cover in the back garden of his home.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts Ted returning a found bullet to a soldier.
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. May 1944, army-lorries parked outside ever house in Childsbridge Lane
Photo:Drawing by Ted Prangnell. It depicts a convoy of military vehicles on Ash-Platts path.
Downloads

My WW2 Memoirs
My WW2 Memoirs (1565k)
To read more about Ted's wartime experiences in his own words please press the above link.

This gallery was added by Malin Lundin on 27/11/2012.
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More about...
Contributors
  • Childhood memories of air raids and evacuation.
  • Recollections of teenage curiosity of bombs and a number of lucky escapes.
  • Recollections of life on the Home Front and service in the Land Army.
  • Childhood memories of growing up in wartime Kent.
  • Childhood memories of wartime Greenwich.
  • Recollections of life on the Home Front.
  • Recollections of six years in the Army serving in North Africa and Burma.
 
 
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