大象传媒

In addition to the immediately local targets there were important sites within a few miles of us. About five miles away just over the ridge to the North East was Hucknall Aerodrome - I believe this was 504 squadron- and attached to the place was a Rolls-Royce establishment.

Ten miles to the South West was Derby and Rolls-Royce's main factory as well as various engineering works and a large Railway complex.

Nottingham is South East and nine miles away, with Raleigh Bicycle works, railways and engineering.

One morning Dad told us that during the blackout last night a huge glow suddenly lit up the sky in the direction of Hucknall. No sirens had sounded and no one seemed to know what was going on. It turned out that Old Watnall Hall had caught fire. The old building burned for most of the night - a real light up the sky and a beacon better than incendiary bombs. The Germans did not come that night!

Another potential direction aid was Nuttall Temple a grandiose house very useful to target all the places I have mentioned above. Nuttall Temple was blown up and thereby disappeared from prominence.

I mentioned Stanton Ironworks nearby where they had to tap the furnaces of iron and lit up the sky like a sunset. The Germans took several cracks at it and hit houses and the canal but never put Stanton out of action.

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