大象传媒

My grandfather John Nicholson invented and patented the Norsen fire hose reel which was used during and after the war (they are in cinemas, public buildings and the like).

My father Harry was an AFS officer and together in their spare time, they built an air raid shelter into my grandfathers house. A small section was built especially for me which gave even more protection to me, a youngster at the time.
We were in this shelter one evening when my father came back from his duty shift and told us that poor Sunderland was receiving the attention of the Luftwaffe. He took us outside to see the sight of searchlights and tracer shells over to the east about seven miles away. It was the first time I had seen such a spectacular display and I lifted my head to follow a tracer shell as it chased a 'plane. I lost my balance and fell back in awe and hit the bumper bar of my dads car. There was a lot of blood and I still, more than 60 years later carry the scar on the back of my head !

I can also remember hearing a german bomber flying over our town one afternoon and circling for a while. Of all the targets it could have hit it chose to dump its bombs on the local golf course ! In subsequent years it was eventually reported that the pilot, while german, had lived in england before the war and must have decided to dump rather than destroy.....

But it was the end of the war I remember best. I knew nothing other than blackout, car headlights partially blanked off and shops with diffused lighting.

My auntie "Cammie" called at the house and took me down into the high street when the "lights came on again" --It was the most spectacular thing I had ever seen and I could not believe how bright it was. All the people were singing and cheering and even at my age I realised that something great had happened. We had grapes and a banana, which were quite new to me and there were carib beans which were also rare up to that day. My uncle Roy brought me a number of souvenirs from Italy including a tube of lava from Vesuvius and some italian toy soldiers. He also gave me a survival kit which contained horlicks tablets and dried meat.

I was five when the war ended but still I can remember the sound of air raid sirens and the air raids themselves.

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