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This story is taken from an interview with Alex Thompson (72), and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.
He had an interview with Anita Cochrane, at Bangor British Legion.
The transcription was by Elizabeth Lamont.
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Alex Thompson lived on Woodstock Road, at
8 years of age.
April Blitz. I was standing at my aunt’s door: there was a shelter across the street: my mother was there.

I remember tracer bullets and lights, when I went out a landmine exploded at St. Anthony’s — demolished 6 houses on the Rosebury Road. Flattened the rectory — the booze was carried out of the cellar for 2 days. With the force of the blast I was lifted off my feet back into the house.

The next morning we went to collect shrapnel.

People would take blankets up to the fields and lie in the fields. We had to take our death policy along with our blankets.

I was evacuated to Lurgan but never liked it: we stayed for 6 months. But it had a NAFE so we got a bit extra rationing — Petrol would come in square tins, we would stand close because we loved the smell of petrol.

Once the Blitz was over for us 8 year olds, life returned to normal pretty quick.

The Yanks took over part of the Ormeau Embankment. Massive crates would arrive: there were vehicles inside: they put the wheels on and connected the batteries.

Once the Yanks gave us a box. We took it away and when we opened it, it was full of balloons. We blew them up and were playing with them when our mothers came out horrified: they were not balloons — but condoms.

We had no electricity until I was 14. We had 1 gas bracket downstairs.

Very few children in our area were evacuated. All the schools were still operating.

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