Submitted by Wendy Blain, Penzance u3a
I was born during the Battle of Britain in Camber Sands, East Sussex. As a German invasion was expected along the south coast, we were ordered to evacuate within 48 hours. I was a fortnight old when my Mum, two brothers aged two and four and grandparents were evacuated to Peppering Farm near Mountfield, Sussex by army lorry. My Dad was serving in the Royal Sussex Regiment and towards the end of the war was a prisoner of war during the Battle for Greece.
Before we left Camber, soldiers were building blockhouses in the sand dunes and iron and wooden posts were sunk all over the sands to prevent aircraft landing at low tide. Dragons teeth were placed along the sea wall as Camber was the first line of defence and ack ack batteries were soon visible. A friend who was helping Mum was stopped by a soldier who asked what was in her basket. He soon retreated when she showed him the dirty nappies!
We returned to the Coastguard Cottages after the war, and I can still see the red poppies growing up through the paving slabs and the large fluffy cat which had been fed by the troops.