大象传媒

This story was submitted to the Coventry and Warwickshire CSV Action Desk by Angela Triggs on behalf of Joan Shipley. The author is aware of the site's conditions.

To encourage the childreeeen to be evacuated, at school assembly the Headmistress announced "There will be dead bodies and blood in the streets". There were tears as we boarded the bus for Leamington Spa, and then later as we filed round the streets to be taken in. I was lucky enough to stay with my sister Doris. Owing to the influx of children, part-time school became the norm.

"Nothing's happening" dad said after a while, so our disrupted school life continued again at Wheatley Street. Should a bomb hit the school it was decided that we would be divided into groups. Gas mask drill was routine .... I can rmember the horrible rubbery smell.

Sadly, it did happened and we were rescued by the ARP. Mum said "Never again in the Anderson Shelter" as we'd clung together hearing every bomb as they screeched down. On the next raid we ran under flares hanging on parachutes to shelter under the BTH factory. The army was there and the Ack-ack gun was some confort, but the place was soon lit up by incendaries and there was a hit ... the lights went out and the water began to rise. Those brave men chaperoned us over debris to the Gosford Green shelter wherer the RAF had barrage balloons, hoping to deter the Luftwaffe from diving bombing!

Families would walk miles - anywhere to get away from the factories.

My boyfriend at the time Gordon worked in the paintshop at Standard Motor Co at Canley, and when the sirens sounded during a bombing raid he escaped down the fire escape. He could see the bombs leaving the plane above his head. He got to the shelter just as the paintshop took a direct hit. I guess we were both lucky to survive - and have had 52 years together.

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