大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Elizabeth Perez of Stockport Libraries on behalf of a lady who wishes to remain anonymous. It has been added to the site with her permission and she fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

My most vivid memory is of being rescued from our bombed house in Liverpool, in 1940. My Father had the cellar of our house reinforced, and we sheltered there for the nightly air raids on the city. I don't remember being particularly afraid of the noises outside, but I remember the tension of my parents. The family then, was my parents, my two younger sisters, one of whom was just a toddler. When the bomb landed, I remember the chaos - dust, darkness and rubble everywhere. My Mother was hit by a metal mantlepiece and temporarily made unconscious. The route through the house was blocked, and we were rescued through the window into the front garden. My everlasting memory is of hands pulling us up, and the cheerful voices of air raid wardens as they comforted us. The road outside was littered, and several communal shelters flattened. I didn't realise at the time that people had been killed. We were taken in care by ladies from the Salvation Army, who were brewing tea, treating injuries, and looking after us all at once.

My favourite memory was later in the war, when we were staying with my Grandmother - a truly indomitable lady of 4ft 11 ins!! Her home had a very long garden, and during raids, we occupied a communal shelter in the road at the bottom of the garden. One night when the warning siren sounded, we all trooped off to the shelter, leaving my Grandfather to bring out a tray of tea. My Grandmother, a working class lady, had a china teapot of which she was very proud. Just as my Grandfather reached the bottom of the garden, a bomb dropped at the end of the road. He was literally blown into the shelter and landed in a heap on the floor amongst the broken crockery. My Grandmother proceeded to give him "the rounds of the kitchen" for breaking her precious teapot. A truly hilarious episode in the midst of violence showing the resilience and courage of ordinary citizens.

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