大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by CSV/大象传媒 Radio Nottingham on behalf of Edith Gallion with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

The war came as a shock to my teenage years, my work was embroidery no good for war, so I went to work for the forces making equipment. One lunchtime crossing the car park, a crowd was arguing if the plane overhead was ours or theirs. When suddenly from a cloud came two smaller planes, there was a loud rat-a-tat-tat, there was squeals and everybody ran for the shelter, which was the cellar under the factory. It was one of theirs, very frightening in the daylight. My first encounter. I lived on the first hill on Hucknall Road.

We were very defiant, my friends and I we were determined to go out to enjoy life, (if possible). I was coming home after 11.30, walking from a dance and at the bottom of Mansfield Road; blackout. The sirens sounded, half way along search lights caught a plane, guns began firing, I began to run, as I passed the forest I looked for bombs, on hearing whistling! I was proud of myself, when I reached home, collapsing in my mum's arms, however, my dad an Air Raid Warden in the city, he was not impressed, he was angry the whistling bombs? were shrapnel, if I had been hit with that, it would have killed me. These happenings were in the first three years of War. I have never forgotten, no-one was around on Mansfield Road, totally blacked out, very frightening. But it did not stop us going dancing.

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