THE autumn programme began with a talk on Bromley wartime memories by Marie-Louise Kerr, curator of Priory Museum.
She said the country’s preparations for war began as early as 1935 by asking for volunteers but there was little response.
The Munich crisis found more people coming forward and by 1938 gas masks were being issued and shelters being built on Bromley Common. Anderson Shelters were free for those on low incomes and Chislehurst Caves provided shelter for an estimated 15,000. The blackout took some getting used to and in the first 10 days of war, more road accidents happened than in the previous 12 years. Some 500 bombs were dropped on Biggin Hill airfield in one day during August 1940.
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