大象传媒

One evening early in 1941 my uncle Ernie was having a drink in a Liverpool city centre pub when the sirens sounded, warning of an impending air-raid.

Most of the pub's customers moved to Liverpool Central underground station to shelter while the raid lasted.

When the bombs began falling one of the young ladies in the group became very agitated stating that she couldn't possibly remain where she was because her parents would be very worried if she wasn't at home with them during an air-raid. Despite the efforts of the rest of the group to dissuade the girl from leaving the relative safety of the underground station she was determined to go.

My uncle didn't know the girl very well but, being a true gentleman, he volunteered to accompany her home. Before joining the RAF, Ernie had been a professional boxer who fought for the World Middleweight title in 1939. Therefore he was supremely fit and as soon as they emerged from the station he took hold of the girl's hand and began to run towards her home which was about a mile away.

Running a mile flat out was not a problem for my uncle but the girl was soon desperate for him to stop for a rest but her lack of breath and the noise of the raid prevented her letting him know, so, still holding his hand, she ran further and faster than she had ever done before.

Without stopping they reached the girl's house in double-quick time and Ernie wished her "Goodnight" , turned round and ran back to the station to rejoin his friends.

The girl opened her front door and immediately collapsed in the hall totally exhausted. She said later that she sat there for about half an hour trying to recover her composure, not worrying where the bombs landed.

This simple story illustrates the quiet courage and courtesy that existed in the generation that endured the Second World War.

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