大象传媒

It was 1939 and World War II was announced, it all went silent. I was 4 at the time and I was living at home with my mum, dad and sister Peggy. My brother was sent to war as a Paratrooper.
Life seemed to carry on as normal, but every now and then at school we weould practice air raids, we would run into the shelter and put our gas masks on. It was weird, but at the same time exciting as I had no idea what was going on, my mind confused and full of all sorts of stories to keep me going. At home we would hide in the cupboard under the stairs, but later on we bulit an air raid shelter at the top of the yard at a neighbour's house, which we shared.
During the war my mum had a part time job at a cafe, my dad disposing of unexploded bombs and my sister Peggty, worked at Woolworths, moving to the Theatre Royal, The American Red Cross and then finally the Land Army.
We had no problems with food shortages down in Lincoln, as we grew our own fruit and vegetables; we contributed to the "Dig for Victory". This was fun!
Once I remember the real feeling of fear, as I was sat in the kitchen with my mum a land mine was dropped nearby, causing me to be flung across the tablel. My mum just grabbed me in time before I landed in the fire. I was numb with fear, my whole body shaking.
It was often known for Lincoln to have demonstrations of air raids etc, but when Bank Street waqs bombed there was a panic, no one knew what to do or think. It was like everything we had learned just fewl out of the window. We went home to our shelters or just the nearest ones, or, even what ever safe place we found.
The war for us kids, wasn't all serious, we didn't know what was going on or what we were meant to feel about the enemy. We took each day as it came and looked forward to it. But when we found out my brother, Reg, was now a prisoner of war the family carried on and we loked forward the the day he returned, eventually he escaped to Czechoslovakia.
One day I was out looking at the sky and sawe a dog fight, I climbed onto the air raid shelter and stood watching. Of course mum didn't know, she would ave killed me, but a friend of the family down the road took me in and looked after me until the Spitfires had stopped fighting. Just watching amazed me I didn't know the risks, I was just a kid. Although usually to pass time, I would play in the bomb shelters.
It was nearing the ebnd of the war and my mum died, which meant Peg had to come home from the Land Army to look after me, whilst dad kept on working, disposing of unexploded bombs.
None of us knew how lucky we were, after all Lincoln wasn't the worst city to be bombed. Although, it knocked some sense into us.
By the end of the war I was 10, and to our relief Reg came home, he was one of the first soldiers to return to Lincoln
We had parties and dances in the streets to celebrate the victory.
Knowing the war was over, I still didn't realise the effects at such a young age, but I will never forget what happened and that fear running through my each and every vein. I was so happy to see Reg return and to be, once again, together with my family. But we would never be complete without mum!

By Bobbie Oxby for Gillian Woodcock, may your memories lead the way.

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