East Grinstead

East Grinstead was our nearest town and was home to Archibald McIndoe’s pioneering work on burns injuries to war victims, mainly RAF personnel. I can remember the walking wounded in normal uniform but with white shirts and red ties, most terribly scarred and one I recall having a hole right through his throat. Early in 1943 Forest Row was shot up by low flying fighter bombers returning from a raid on south-east London – I vividly recall two FW 190s passing low over my head with guns blazing as I stood outside my school. Happily no-one was injured in the attack but they had aleady wreaked havoc on Sandhurst Road school in Catford. In the summer my mother was caught in a raid on East Grinstead by a lone bomber and escaped with extreme shock – a lot of damage was caused in that attack and a bomb hit a cinema killing a lot of people.

© Denis McCarthy

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1. Memories of WWII – Growing up in wartime Hartfield, Sussex.
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3. Memories of WWII – John Jacob Lyons
4. Memories of WWII – Maurice Dann
5. Memories of WWII – Grace’s story: In East Grinstead