Londoners had been warned for weeks what to do if war came an the air raid warning (wailing willy) sounded. We were to leave what we were doing and make our way to the nearest air raid shelter. The troops of Nazi Germany invaded Poland on Friday 1st September 1939. Britain had an alliance with Poland, therefore, on Sunday 3rd April our Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced by radio that Britain was now at war. I lived in Lysia Street, off Fulham Palace Road, which was about 1.5 miles from the small chapel in Redmore Road, Hammersmith where I had been converted, then baptised, about a year earlier.
At 11 O’ Clock on that never-to-be-forgotten Sunday morning a small group of believers gathered to worship the Risen Saviour, the service to be led by Pastor Wicks, a retired pastor of the Old Baptist Union. The service had been going for about 30 minutes when, yes you’ve guessed, the wall of sirens split the reverence of our worship. What an intrusion! I was the youngest person present, without any authority, so I decided to follow the lead of the more mature believers. We left the chapel and walked to Hammersmith Broadway where there was a large room, which I imagined had been reinforced. It was such a new experience for us all – ‘unprecedented’!! Naturally, we were apprehensive concerning the destruction we would see when it was safe to leave. Our fears were unfounded as the ‘plane picked up on the radar was not German!’ the “all clear” siren wailed, and we left praising God that all was well.
Are we churned with anxiety and fear because of Covid, finance, family or health? Fear not! The all clear will sound soon and we will rejoice that our WONDERFUL SAVIOUR has been with us all the time.
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