Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Women at War – East London 1940 & 2005



On Monday afternoon by chance I listened to a superb play on Radio 4. It was the first of a series called “Women at War”. Only 15 minutes long “Night in the Front Line” by
Molly Lefebure, was read by Julia McKenzie. Click on here to listen again before next Monday.

It was the story of an ordinary East End woman, Mrs Minnow, enduring a particularly heavy and bloody Nazi air-raid during the Blitz. A very simple, personal story of survival. No heroics, just trying to live through unimaginable devastation and death.

Towards the end of the play Mrs Minnow described how the next day she walked along Bow Road, East London towards Stratford in order to escape the bombing. Along the road with her was a constant stream of other survivors walking along the road in the same direction of safety.

This image immediately reminded me of driving towards Stratford along Bow Road on July 7 2005 after the London Bombing had shutdown the transport system and similar steams of Londoners walking down the same road in the same direction.

Of course, no matter how horrific July 7 was, it was nothing compared to the Blitz. But Mrs Minnow reminded me of that day. History repeating itself?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

it is nice enghu