大象传媒

This account was submitted to the site by Helen Hughes, of the People's War team in Wales, on behalf of Peggy Murdie and has been added to the site with her permission.

I used to live on Caerphilly Road, Birchgrove, I was brought up there鈥�. We had a bomb dropped at the back of us and we was all evacuated out in buses. The brickworks was behind us so a bomb dropped there and the police come with buses and took us all out. Because they was afraid the bomb was going to go off. We stayed the night in Glaston school in Crwys Road and I鈥檇 never tasted Weetabix before鈥ut that鈥檚 what we had for breakfast the next day. When there was an air raid we used to go in the shelter first鈥ut the shelter filled up with water so we used to go under the stairs then. I lived with my gran and my cousin and my gran used to have two suitcases one with food and one with all the documents in and she used to fetch them down all the time, and we used to take them underneath the stairs with us.
We were under the stairs when the bomb dropped鈥nd this knock come to the door and they said 鈥淐ome on you鈥檝e all got to get out鈥�, they said. So my gran said 鈥淚鈥檓 not going鈥� and he said 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to- there鈥檚 a bomb in the back of your garden.鈥� So they got us out and we took the bird in the cage on the bus with us鈥nd the two dogs and then we went down there. The next day they let us back鈥ut all our windows was all broke and that鈥o the rest of the war we lived with wooden windows鈥o windows in. I must have been about six or seven鈥�.I can remember it so plain. And I can remember hearing the aircraft coming over. It鈥檚 something 鈥� you know 鈥� then you鈥檇 hear the noise of the sirens and that and you鈥檇 think 鈥淥h no, hear we go again鈥� 鈥nd you鈥檇 get under the stairs and your teeth would be chattering because you鈥檇 be cold and scared. It was very scary.

My Gran used to lay people out鈥nd even if there was an air raid they used to come and knock the door and say 鈥淢rs. Allen鈥rs. So and so鈥檚 died will you come and do the works.鈥� And me and my cousin used to say 鈥淥h Nanny, don鈥檛 go out, don鈥檛 go out鈥� 鈥淚鈥檝e got to go, I鈥檝e got to go鈥濃�ut she used to have a brown bag and she had two pennies in there and some bandages 鈥� and we hated that bag me and my cousin. But then some days if we were short of money 鈥� say a Thursday or something 鈥� she used to say 鈥済o and get the penny out of the brown bag for the gas meter鈥� 鈥�.

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