大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War website by 大象传媒 Essex Action Desk on behalf of Eric Butts who has given his permission and understands the sites terms and conditions.

It was Friday evening the 14th February 1941. I lived with my parents in a cottage at the rear of some shops in Goggeshall Road, almost opposite what was then the High School, now I believe the council offices and in the shadow of the water Towers.
My older brothers, who was seven and me, who was five and a half, were asleep in our Morrison shelter. My mother was having a bath in front of the fire, one of the old tin baths that had to be filled by hand and my father was in the white heart, opposite, having a pint.

Suddenly we were woken by the sound of an aircraft, which seemed to be very low and then the whistling sound of bombs falling. The next think all hell broke lose, an almighty flash and explosion that blew the windows out and caused other structural damage, that wasn鈥檛 obvious until the next morning.
Meanwhile my mother was screaming for my father who was there almost immediately and found her covered in soot but otherwise unhurt. He quickly got us all together and took us over the road to the white hart where we ended up in the cellar for the rest of the night.

We spent the next morning inspecting the damage and quickly realised how lucky we had been.
Two bombs had fallen at the top of Goggeshall Road, with the junction of Bank Street and one had fallen outside the High school no more that 20yards from our cottage which was no longer habitable. It鈥檚 something that I shall never forget and every time I see those water towers the memories come flooding back.

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