大象传媒

I remember 1941, the Luftwaffe used to come down the Mersey from Ireland. In Waterloo they had guns which would run along the sea front shooting at the Germans. People often hid under the railway arches thinking it was safe; I remember hearing how a landmine hit the top of one and killed them all. There was lots of death; an ammunition ship went up by Blackstock Street destroying the whole dock.
I lived in Sweden Street, it鈥檚 not there now. During an air-raid we鈥檇 hide under the stairs and my uncle Tom would put planks and boards against the hole. During a bad raid, a bomb hit Victoria Park, by the railway, (the bridge has still got shrapnel holes in it). A second bomb hit, and destroyed five houses, in Norway Street, you heard someone shouting 鈥淢other! Mother!鈥� people dug, and dug; it turned out to be a parrot! The third bomb hit Wesley Street. I had a friend called Gordon Brown, he had a sister who was stubborn and she wouldn鈥檛 leave during a bombing; she lay upstairs with her baby, and when the bomb hit Sweden Street a slate was blown up in the air cutting her head into two. She was found next to the baby. All the time, we were hiding under the stairs, and I was knocked unconscious by my Auntie Liz, who鈥檇 come to stay with us. I came to not knowing what had happened. When we went back into the house, everywhere was white; the windows had been blown in with the blast and the plaster had covered everything, everywhere was totally white; the walls, floor, ceiling. We went up to Wesley Street, the bomb had come down, gone into the cellar of the house, the blast went straight up taking the middle out of the house. The pictures were still on the walls untouched!

'This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by 大象传媒 Radio Merseyside鈥檚 People鈥檚 War team on behalf of the author and has been added to the site with his / her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.'

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.