This is the story of Elizabeth Dove, who lived near Clerkenwell throughout the Second World War, where her father was a vicar. Because the vicarage had plenty of room, the house was constantly full of people needing help and accommodation for one reason or another. She was a member of the Women's Junior Air Corps and at the end of the war became a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service. Elizabeth died 3 years ago but before she died she wrote an account of these times. Joy Mcfall as executor of Elizabeth's will has made this account available, knowing it would be Elizabeth's wish. Here are some random jottings from my life living in the centre of London with my mum and dad during the Second World War. I was 13 years of age at the outbreak of the war in 1939 and very much a home - lover having no wish to evacuate. There was no schooling as such but I was able to continue my education as well as learning shorthand and typewriting at Pitman's College in Southampton Row. I used to walk down there from my home in Myddelton Square in Clerkenwell, never quite knowing whether I would be able to get there or not! Roads and houses might well have been bombed overnight leaving craters, debris and general disorder. At Pitman's we used to go down into the basement for lessons should there be an air raid. We lived in a large Victorian house with a church in the centre of the Square where my father was the vicar. Our house front door was always open, day and night for anyone to come in for help or a chat, especially if they had been bombed or flooded out. (The Metropolitan Water Board's reservoir was at the tip of our Square and was often bombed. It was nothing unusual for them to arrive with cases and bags containing the only possessions they had left. One day, after a particularly bad (air) raid overnight we had a house full of people. My mother said to a man something about his wife who was standing next to him and he said "My wife? I've never seen her before!!" We also had a couple of people billeted on us (large house ...