大象传媒

This contribution to WW2 People鈥檚 War was received by the Action Desk at 大象传媒 Radio Norfolk. The story has been written and submitted to the website by Rosalie Davis Gibb (Volunteer Story Gatherer) with the full permission and on behalf of Frederick A Wright.

The next episode of my life in 1944 proved, I think, that I needed my brains tested. It was like this 鈥� we were again on a reconnaissance and had stopped by a small number of houses. Immediately, all the inhabitants crowded around us. It looked as if they hadn鈥檛 met many British soldiers before.

They were, of course, very friendly and talkative. Suddenly, an old man took hold of my arm and began to lead me into his house. I thought perhaps he was going to give me a drink, but not so.

He led me through the front door and I could see a lot of damage at the rear of the house. When we reached the kitchen I was confronted by a rather large bomb, fixed firmly at an angle of 45 degrees in the chimney breast. What would once have been the back door was now nothing more than a large hole, with rubble all over the floor.

Obviously, he wanted me to shift the bomb. I looked at it, all three feet of it. With a large diameter, it was undoubtedly very heavy, apart from what it contained. I looked at the old man, who pleaded with me.

By my foot on the floor laid a square bit of brickwork. I placed my right foot on top of it, which brought my knee up to just below the bomb. With my left hand I gingerly began to pull one or two bricks out from around the nose of the bomb while steadying it with my right hand. I turned to the old man but he had long gone. I was alone.

Oh well, I thought, if it explodes I will not even hear the bang. Forgive me mother!! And I set to work. A few more bricks were released and soon the bomb began to roll out across my knee and into my arms. It seemed a terrible weight.

I don鈥檛 know how I managed to place my feet soundly on that kitchen floor with loose bricks everywhere. Somehow, I managed at last to work my way out of the house and onto the grass outside. Another problem faced me for I found myself surrounded by buildings. I could not see any way out. But the green was very large and somewhere about the middle of it I could see a crater, probably caused by my bomb鈥檚 companion.

So I struggled over with it and somehow managed to work my way down into the crater and, oh so carefully, laid the bomb down and got out as soon as I could and back to my companions. To my surprise they had all gone miles up the road.

鈥淲hat are you lot all doing up here?鈥� I said. Nobby replied, 鈥淭here has been a scare on.鈥� Then I told him what I鈥檇 done.

鈥淵ou damn fool,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was you.鈥� And that鈥檚 all the thanks I got!

Please read on to my next story 'BLOWING THE RIVER LYS BRIDGES'

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