In Streetlife (Chronicle, November 20) you showed the gates to Syon Park in the London Road. This brought back memories to me of the Second World War that your readers might be interested in.
I lived in Syon Lane at the time and there was very heavy bombing one Sunday evening. Many incendiary bombs fell and only one stirrup pump that was being used on attics in the houses. So we had to use earth to cover others. I was in my late teens with others all doing the same thing, and as we got to the end of the road, which was almost opposite Syon Gates, we found a young girl who was very badly injured. She kept saying a boy's name but we couldn't see anyone else, so we stayed with her until an ambulance arrived.
Then we saw that a bomb had fallen right in the entrance of the gates and had hit a gas main below, and the flames were as high as the gates and pillars had pieces blown out of them that were not repaired until after the war. I know the firemen were very puzzled at the time how to handle it, as water does not put out gas flames, so I believe, but we did not wait to find out.
When we got home we found our fireplace was full of fins of these bombs that my young brother had collected.
Later on in the week we were told that a young man and a postman who was cycling by at the time were both killed.
MARY HUXLEY Church Walk, Brentford. :
