大象传媒

This story was submitted by Alison Tebbutt, Derby CSV Action Desk on behalf of John Bulmar. The author has given his permission and fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was only eight years old at the end of the war but I can remember a few things.

I was born on 19th March 1937 in Castle Donington. My Dad had just got a job at Rolls-Royce. I was only a few months old when we moved to Derby to be near my Dads work. We hadn鈥檛 been there long when the War broke out. My Mum and Dad started to worry about what if they bombed the factory, so we moved back to Castle Donington, just my Mum, me and by then, my little sister. We left Dad in Derby. My sister and I lived at my Granny and Granddad鈥檚 cottage. My mum would go back to Derby now and then. In 1942 my brother was born. Shortly after that we all moved back to Derby.

On the morning Rolls-Royce was bombed we were in the kitchen when a big aeroplane flew very low over our house. Not long after there were some big explosions. There were quite a few killed or wounded.

Towards the end of the War my sister and I went back to live with my Grandparents. They were wonderful days if you were a child, you had no worries. We were surrounded by fields and farms. I can still remember the names of some of my playmates such as Joe Bucknall, John and Peter Hibbert, Colin Barker and David Clayton. We had a great time playing in the fields and helping the farmer, Joe Raynes.

We went back to Derby just before the end of the War. After that came the end of the War. We had a street party for the end of the War in Europe, then another for the end of the War in Japan. I have other memories, but some are better told than written down.

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