LAST week we featured Jean Matthews’ memories of French soldiers in Weymouth, who were evacuated from Dunkirk and accommodated in the town.

Jean very kindly submitted some more of her wartime memories for these pages.

She said: “These early days of the war were so exciting for us children, I can’t remember being frightened, there were the ‘dog fights’ overhead, bombs being dropped in town (meant for the harbour) and Portland of course.

“I was under the dining table with Twinky our cat, who seemed to know when the ‘all clear’ sounded – we didn’t have shelters then – the Morrison came later.

“After the raid we would dash out to pick up the shrapnel – which was sometimes still warm.

“Later on our neighbours just opposite (Mr & Mrs Bridge – barbers) opened up their cellar, very large and dry, and we were invited to go over during a raid, while we sat in the deck chairs, wrapped in blankets because it was quite chilly, but I thought ‘good fun’.

“Our parents had to go to the steps every now and again to make sure their property was OK. A builder after the war was up on our roof working on repairs and he asked dad if he realised that the chimney had a bullet through it. I remember that the Butler Hotel had had bullets through their window.

“My parents, at this time, would go up into the attic to watch the dogfights buzzing overhead, the alert had sounded and my mother had sat my Grandma Hayward and I on the stairs – it was said this was a safe place – while the action was going on above, when suddenly the two of them came flying down, binoculars in hand, Mum saying: “They’re dropping ‘em.”