大象传媒

Interview with Eric Atkinson 31 July 2005 at Peterloo Court

Eric was born 1930 in Whit Lane, 4 Alderson St. Lived there until bombed out. His mother died leaving 3 boys when she was 32. His father remarried and they had a cruel step mother. He was 3 when his mother died. His step mother threw the frying pan at his grandmother one Sunday and she needed 14 stitches. They were always been hit. Terrible life until leaving home at 17 when he joined the army. She tried to hit him with a bottle before he went.

He was 9 when war broke out. Heard on the radio. Soon bombs were dropping first London and Liverpool and then Manchester. Shelters were built in the streets. One night a bomb lifted the roof of the shelter and they had to run to find another one whilst the bombs were dropping. They lay on top of their grandmother to protect her as they were running to the next shelter at St George鈥檚 crypt, Church Lane. Some ran out because rumour was that parachutes were falling and they ran out with pick forks. However it was bombs on parachutes and not people. He had a school friend who lived nearby. His mother had greengrocers, her mother had a grocers. When came out of shelter, saw his friend鈥檚 house, his grandmothers and that whole street had been hit. All the windows were out of their house. They were boarded up with barrage balloon cloth. He went back to dig at his friends house and all they found was an arm. Never found his friend or his brother his mother or grandparents. His father was in the pub and had escaped. All they found was the parrot which had survived behind the piano which had dropped into the cellar. Found Kenneth the youngest one alive but he died on the way to the hospital. Every street was bomb damaged and many were missing, school friends. Went down a street near Cromwell Rd for a school friend and there was a woman hanging out of the bedroom window because she had not gone to the shelter during a raid. There was a shelter under the bowling green in the Park on Whit Lane. You never knew what you would find when you came out of the shelter.

Orchard St had cotton mills. They were bombed. At the top on Holland St was a coffee works and left was a bridge over the Canal. On that corner was a paper shop. A bomb had gone through its kitchen window. It was an oil bomb to be followed by incendiaries. The blast of the bomb had blasted an ARP man into the brickwork. Not a pretty sight. You never knew what would happen each night. They evacuated them to Rawtenstal. Stayed in a mansion house. A woman would make them breakfast in the morning, take them to school, give them supper in the evening, made sure they went to bed. Boys in one room and girls in another. She would go home and lock them in. About 8 boys and 9 girls. Only mixed at breakfast. They were locked in overnight. Walked to school and back.
No time for much playing. Some children were luckier with their evacuation. Only stayed a week. His oldest brother Joe needed Holy Communion and so his dad came and took them home. Life was not easy. Grandma took in washing to help buy the children shoes. Step mother could care. She always going out with other men. Father didn鈥檛 care because his real love had died.

Father was a fireman during the war He was injured in Trafford Park and needed 14 stitches but he carried on. He was blown through a window into a water tank but caught his leg on barbed wire. Father鈥檚 friend, Jimmy, was also in the fire service. You got used to anything. He would joke about things. Jimmy was stationed at Doughlas Green down Whit Lane at Canons Gas stoves. The shelter was under the bowling Green . Jimmy brought 12 unexploded incendiaries and his officer told him to get them into the field. He did that and they all went off. Tons of incendiaries were dropped and oil bombs dropped to fan the fires. He would collect shrapnel. Some had bucket loads. There was like a fin on the incendiaries and they would collect them and swop them. During the day they lived normal lives, like swimming in the canal. On Frederick Rd was a scrap iron yard. There were aeroplane cockpits there. One day boys swam the canal and found a bag of old guns in the yard. They were running round the streets with these rifles. They had been bent, so they didn鈥檛 work. The police came around collecting them all.

Near them in Borough St a plane went over just missing the chimneys. It had smoke coming from it. The pilot was trying to keep it up. It went over the playing fields in Littleton Rd, went over the river Irwell and into the embankment and blew up. The pilot and crew, 7 people, were killed. There is a memorial to them now in a nearby Cemetery. This towards end of war.

He attended St George鈥檚 School. His street Alderson St is still there. He gives a little description of the local streets. He could take you on a walking tour and tell you where everything was and where everything happened. (Maybe worth doing with this with a video). Had gas masks. They used to whistle sometimes.

It was a Lancaster Bomber which crashed into the River Bank between Langley and Pendleton. It was a PDF04 returning from a bombing operation over Normandy and Germany. It was 30 July 1944 and was part of 62 aircraft supporting the second army.

When he left school he went to work in the cotton mill as apprentice. He put oil on spinning machines to grease where the bobbins went and he used to put new bands on the bobbins. He describes the workings of the different sections of the mill from the spinning of the threads to the making of the cloth. It was then dyed and made into clothes. The factories had their own sirens and these had different names. One was called Whining Willie and they all had their own sounds. When they started you made for the nearest shelter. Lamposts told you where the nearest shelter was.

He speaks about a present day trip to Rochdale to see the underground shelters which are still there. Miles of tunnels. (He made a mistake, he meant Stockport). There was a maternity hospital underground there also. They sang along in the shelters. One family would bring an accordion and they would sing. Would sit on benches and there were bunk beds. There were also street shelters between brick walls with a reinforced roof. In the factory some were dug into the ground and some were like the street shelter. Told never to walk down the middle of the street and to keep close to the base of the gable end of the building. Trying to talk with gas masks on they made a funny warbling noise. He was frightened during the Blitz but after the while you got used to the shelters and you picked the best places. People here were brave.

Had food called Pom and had dried egg. Used to mix this Pom powder with boiling water and it was liked mashed potato. Would put dried egg with water in frying pan and had this with Pom and peas. He and a friend would take a scout handcart and a tent and go and camp in Ringley Woods during school holidays. Would leave tent in farmers barn and take it out when went up there. Would go swimming in the river. Once they stayed a fortnight and the police ended up looking for them. Belonged to the Scouts. Practiced first aid. Helped people to the shelters. Went on parades. Later joined ATC Cadet Force, the air training Corps. They had a Church Hall on Broughton Rd down Whit Lane. You wore the Air force uniform although you were a cadet. Did a year with Air Training Cadets. Had a brass band and they won the All round Lancashire Championships at BelleVue. The oldest was 17. Won 拢10 and a silver cup. Went to Blackpool with the money. Went camping to Squires Gate near Blackpool. Went up in an air speed Oxford with a Polish pilot. Flew to Eiffel Tower and back. Eric was getting ready to go to the forces. He loved staying under canvas. Next day went up in a Dakota, which was a parachute plane. When they came home from the flight the pilot joked that they would have to do a crash landing. Last day they went up in a Wellington Bomber. The pilots couldn鈥檛 care less. They came home at the weekend and after a couple months he joined the army at Cross Lane. He knew the drill by then.

He was in Malvern when war ended. Doesn鈥檛 really remember.
He in the Red Neckerchiefs Scouts in Higher Broughton
He was in the army 2-3 years and came out on medical grounds because broke arm in a jeep crash. He went back to the mill. He loved dancing. Went to local cinemas and dance halls. At Madame Jones on Broad St met wife Beatty. Went to Broughton Assembly Rooms and Rialto. He was Rock and Roll mad. He gave a demonstration of Rock and Roll at a local school recently. They loved it.
Lives now in Sheltered Housing.

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