During the summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain began. The German air force directed a series of intense raids against England. Although Bournemouth was not a military target, German pilots often had leftover bombs from their sorties and would drop them close to Jane’s house in order to lighten their loads before flying across the English Channel. At the sound of the air raid siren, the family had to go into the bomb shelter. During the war years, Jane drew strength from listening to the reassuring and courageous words of Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England, on the radio.
