大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People's War website by Jennny Finch of the Lancshomeguard on behalf of Lilian Rogers and added to the site with her permission.

(1) My father was the vicar of Tuebrook church, and we lived in four storey house on Buckingham Rd- one night an arms train was blown sky high at Tuebrook station which was two or three roads away鈥擳he blast blew out all our windows and great lumps of stone mullion landed on the beds--the huge iron train wheels came down through the roof smashing out all the floors from the attic to the cellar where we sat looking up at the sky waiting for the all clear.
The same explosion caused great damage to houses as far away as Club moor causing many people to become homeless.

(2) Those families bombed out usually had to move in with other family members, some took in complete strangers.
Despite food shortages we always seemed to be well fed women became very resourceful and could make a meal out of next to nothing.

(3) Another night my father who also doubled as an ARP officer was called out to a huge unexploded bomb at Tuebrook station鈥攈e called the bomb disposal then rushed off to officiate at a wedding-on returning he found the bomb made safe loaded onto a horse cart and bomb disposal team paraded it victoriously round to the vicarage.

(4) During another air raid a bomb smashed through the roof of Newsham Park Orphanage where a night staff member was sitting on watch-- his legs apart-- the bomb sailed right between his legs and into the cellar where it failed to explode-the night watch man was completely unscathed though very shaken.

(5) Walter Crane the church organist and music teacher was fire watching in the basement of India buildings when a bomb tore straight down the lift shaft where it exploded and killed him.

(6) There were very sad times along with lots of good times also many restrictions such as hem lengths, button shortages and fond memories of ladder mending stockings until you went cross eyed-

(7) My friend and I volunteered to work on the land at a farm in Kirby during our holidays. Fifteen girls who knew nothing about farming transported precariously on the back of an open lorry with a rope tied down the middle and six inches of water underfoot. In the main we just got on with it and did what we could for the war effort everyone kept in good spirits and those of us left gave praise we were spared.

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