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There were many abnormal things that happened to people during the Plymouth blitz; I believe that my mother, baby brother & I experienced one of the most unusual.

The house we were in at this particular time was just off Albert Road, in the area between Albert Road (to the North) & Exmouth Road (to the East); where Drummond Place & St. Pym Street are today. The house was one in a terrace of small houses that ran from the Albert Road end towards Devonport Park. There were probably a number of these terraces running parallel to each other; I can’t remember.

Mum, Michael & I were all in the one bed in an upstairs bedroom. The air raid sirens had sounded their mournful tune some time ago, but as one or other of us boys had a highly contagious illness (measles, I think), it had seemed prudent to Mum not to go to the crowded air raid shelter & spread the germs. Folk had enough to worry about in those days.

The air raid was in full swing; the noise was dreadful, and, despite being the darkest hours of the night, our bedroom was lit from the window as though the sun was shining straight in; we were in the middle of an incendiary raid. Incendiary bombs were dropped in ‘sticks’, or groups, & were designed to cause huge fires.

Suddenly, & at the time it seemed, soundlessly, the heads of three incendiary bombs were poking through the ceiling right above our bed. They were clustered to one side of the centre light, & seemed to be peering at us. Mum was terrified, & afraid to move in case our movement caused these dreadful things to fall onto our bed, & complete their intended purpose.

A moment later — it seemed like hours at the time, I’m sure — the bedroom window was broken, and firemen climbed in to take us all to safety.

What was truly wondrous about that night was that every house in our terrace, & the terrace opposite, was a raging inferno; the house we were in had been spared from the instant fireball. The firemen & the folk in the air raid shelter were amazed that we had survived. Maybe someone’s prayers had been answered. We’ll never know.

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