When war was declared in September 1939, Hastings, being on the south east coast of England was in a precarious position. After the fall of France, the 'Phoney War' was over and, on the 21st July 1940, 3,000 children from various schools in Hastings were evacuated to safer areas (in theory) of the country. Gordon described his evacuation experience to me for my book, Hastings at War, where he said: 'I was evacuated with Hastings Central School to a lady and gentleman's house called Mr and Mrs Legg and they were really good. I remember her trying to teach me to talk properly and make me sound my vowels in the right way. Eventually she gave up and told my father she presumed it's the way we tall in Hastings! There were occasions they would borrow a bicycle for me and we'd all cycle over to Ware to visit my sister, Maisie. Being taken away from home like that, I don't ever remember being upset; life seemed quite interesting, quite an experience.'

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Gordon returned to Hastings after he turned 14 to start work, initially assisting with the war still in action and helped his father, Leslie and his uncles, Stan and Cecil with their furniture removal business. He recalled the company being called to a house adjoining one, which had been flattened in Warrior Square after a bombing raid on 24th September 1942: 'We got called to Warrior Square and a bomb had fallen, and it was amazing how it had happened; it looked as if somebody had just taken a couple of houses out and there was just a gap there. We had to go in the next house and get the furniture out and the police or Air Raid Warden said to us that the staircase was alright, but whatever we did, not to lean on the wall, what was now the outer wall. It was a bit tricky going up there keeping away from it. I remember that on one of the landings on this outside wall was a big mirror, a massive great mirror, and it was still hanging there and it wasn't broken and yet the whole other side of the wall had gone.'

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At the start of the flying-bomb era (in June 1944), Gordon wanted to chance his luck and go with his father on a furniture removal job to London to see the doodlebugs. He recalled, 'You used to do these things and didn't worry about it. I remember helping to carry a wardrobe down the staircase and I was at the top holding it and another fellow at the bottom, and a doodlebug came over and the engine cut out. The next thing you knew there was a terrific bang nearby, and I was standing there holding this wardrobe and I couldn't do anything about it! The thing came down nearby, but not too near to us.'

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Click the links below to listen to Gordon in his own words speaking about his younger years, including joining the ATC and taking a flight in a WW1 Tiger Moth and also his application to join the RAF in 1945, being accepted as an RT operator. The audio recordings go on to talk about Gordon's time in the Air Force abroad.

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