大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with Miss Lil Davis, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interviewer was David Reid, and the transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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There was no blitz. There was in 41, there was one at least and there could have been 2. Because a chap that I knew, in the, turned to me in the 鈥� it was some organisation. Anyway, he said 鈥淵ou must come. You must come to help鈥�. He was coming up to help because of the blitz. What did they call it now? I鈥檓 getting very forgetful. I should know it. The Red Cross, that was what it was. He was coming up with others to help, and I remember when he did and the next day when I saw him he said 鈥淚t was terrible, just terrible鈥�. But after I came to Belfast there was signal went if they thought that they were coming in. There was a signal. The sirens. Well, twice the sirens went off in 42. Twice. And everybody of course ran out of their buildings. And there were Air raid shelters.
I didn鈥檛, my first couple of years I wasn鈥檛 on the Falls Road. I was in the stores. I went into the Falls Road, to the college on the Falls road, in January of 46.
I was in digs in a house on Donegal Pass, quite opposite the Police Station. And that house was full. There was only 4 girls, and I was one of the 4. And other than that there was 21 men. It was an immense big house and she was a lovely, and she was very good to us. It was an immense big house when it had 21 men in it. What made me laugh was, they all ran out, you see? And it was a shelter about 300 yards from the digs. And they all ran towards that. But I stood back, and I thought 鈥渁re they Irish?鈥� Not one looked around to see, are the girls safe? Not one of them! That鈥檚 one memory that stuck with me. Not one of them looked round to see were the girls safe! I though, 鈥減raise be to lord god, what will you people get for wives?鈥� I never got over that. And the age I am today, don鈥檛 you think I鈥檇 have forgot about it? No. I would never forget that. But everybody, I didn鈥檛 go. I walked up and down. And they said 鈥淵ou must go. But you must go to the shelter!鈥� wild horses couldn鈥檛 get me to the shelter. I thought it was the most stupid thing of all to go to it. If the bomb hits the street, yes. Said to me, there were timber and rocks and everything else flying around, and you were very likely to be hit. But if it hits the shelter, you鈥檙e finished. I thought it was the most stupid thing of all to build shelters and have people crowd into them. The thing is this, you see? Why are they so sure that the shelter will not be hit? Why are they so sure that the shelter will not be hit? They鈥檙e determined to hit something, it could be anything. Anyway, there could be 2 things I say, sirens, and then one shortly after. But thanks be to god, for all that there were warnings they didn鈥檛 come. I don鈥檛 quite know what happened in these cases. Possibly, they would be coming in by plane, and possibly some of the other planes could interfere and get them before they had time to get to us.

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