大象传媒

My mother, Christina L.J.Oliver, told me this story about the night my family was nearly wiped out during the bombing on the City of Hull, East Yorkshire.

On one of the nights in which Hull was badly bombed nearly all of Liverpool Street on Hessle Road was evacuated, all that is except for Kingston Avenue which was the very last terrace on the left hand side.

I only knew of the danger when I set off to go to work in the morning. As I reached the part of the street which was across Witty Street I noticed Police and what appeared to be Bomb Disposal. I was stopped by a Policeman who asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was on my way to work. He told me that there should be no-one in this area as the whole street had been evacuated. I said that our terrace had not been evacuated. He asked me which one that was. He then sent another Policeman to go and alert the residents and move them out safely.

I was told to hurry along and he escorted me to the top of the street. I really wanted to go back to my home and help my parents go from danger with my two children. I was not allowed to do this.

As I passed the tram sheds at the top part of Liverpool Street I saw the reason why the area had to be evacuated, a large bomb had got caught on the tram wires. It hung just one inch from the ground, one inch away from wiping out my area of Hessle Road.

My own family would have been devastated as my Parents lived in Kingston Avenue, as did my Brother鈥檚 family, my Sister and her family, as well as my own children who stayed with my Parents when I went to do my bit for the War Effort.

That previous night Hull had been heavily bombed. For us it had been one of the miracles one often hears about happening. It did not seem a great one at the time I just Thanked God that it had. I was lucky in that I could pass this story on to my daughter for her to pass it on to future generations after I am gone.

(Christina died on 2nd November 1998 aged 87 years.)

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