WWII stories: Tooting tortoise survives war bomb
The distinctive drone of a V1 flying bomb overhead was a terrifying sound during the Second World War.
But it was the eerie silence as the engine stopped that signified the missile’s deadly descent.
Pam remembers the day one of the petrifying German weapons – known as a doodlebug for its buzzing noise – struck her neighbourhood in Tooting.
“The plane went across Glasford Street, stalled and let out its bombs,” says the 86-year-old, who was a child at the time of the bombing on 1 July 1944.
“They went through the alley to Renmuir Street, that’s where all the damage occurred.
“When the flames went out of the back, it just cut out, the flames stopped and that’s when the bomb dropped.
“We didn’t have time to get over to the shelter, which was a blessing as that got flattened and they were killed in there. It was a frightening experience.”
Watch Pam tell her story
Seven people were killed in the bombing, with the telltale signs of the destruction where a newer block of flats later replaced a row of brick houses.
It was on the bombsite that Pam’s brother and his friend made an amazing discovery – what looked like a military kit bag, with two small tortoises inside.
Incredible discovery
“My brother Alan and his friend went out looking for shrapnel, and found this kitbag with two tortoises in it,” explains Pam.
“Alan came back home with one of them and mum said ‘What do you want me to do with that then?’ and he’s been with us ever since.
“He’s never grown, so we don’t know how old he was when he was found.”
Named Freddie, the unusual pet has survived more than eight decades since he was found, although sadly the other tortoise did not come out of hibernation after its ordeal.
Image credit: Geoff Simmons
It is thought they might have been brought back to the UK by a member of the armed forces on leave, possibly from Greece or the Middle East.
Now happily living with Pam and enjoying treats of little gem lettuce, runner bean leaves and flowers and dandelion stalks, Freddie is unaware of his lucky escape.
“I’m just so pleased he’s lasted,” adds Pam.
Pam recalls how the family had returned to Tooting after getting the all clear – despite the war continuing well into 1945.
Evacuated from Tooting
With dad Arthur serving in the military in Burma, the rest of the family – Pam, brother Alan and mum Mabel – had previously been evacuated to Port Talbot, in Wales.
“We all went by train and an aeroplane followed the train over the top to guard the train itself,” remembers Pam.
“We had to go and stay in a Nissen Hut, which was a tin hut with lots of us on a field.
“The thing I can remember quite clearly is there was a horse on the field as well and it was going ‘bomp, bomp, bomp’ all the way down the Nissen Hut.
“I asked mum ‘what’s that noise?’ so she looked out and said ‘it’s a horse, bashing against the side of the Nissen Hut’.
“We got rehoused properly afterwards in a big house with a maid.”
The time after the war was hard, with Pam highlighting how no one had anything spare for VE Day celebrations.
The back of Pam’s house had been shattered by the bomb shock, and her mum was forced to pawn items to make ends meet.
Attending Sellincourt School before starting work for the NAAFI (Navy, Army, and Air Force Institute) at the age of 14, Pam worked there until she retired.
“I’ve had a happy life,” says Pam. “And every year when Freddie goes to hibernate, I wonder if he’ll get up. And when he does, I think ‘Gosh Freddie!’”