大象传媒

17/07/2005

We were bombed out during the war, 1939, we were living where I was born in Fenchurch Street, Stepney Lane and I鈥檒l never forget that night as long as I live, never.

We had a shelter at the side of our house then, it was just for our family and my father had put two bunk beds in it. I had two brothers and, in the end, that鈥檚 where they slept. I was the worse one to get up. My mother used to come in say; 鈥淚鈥檓 coming in for the last time to tell you, the bombers are overhead now.鈥� So I just said 鈥淵eah鈥�. I used to have all my clothes on coat-hangers on the back of my door. When there was a raid I鈥檇 just pull the coat-hangers over my arm and I鈥檇 be off into the shelter.

That night we were bombed out; all you saw was the gas jets all the way up the street. Jets of gas on fire, they鈥檇 knocked all the houses down you see, and all I could hear was screaming; people screaming out for help. My father and my two brothers, they were only young you know, they went and helped all the burned and injured people. There were some people who died and they helped to carry the bodies 鈥� and that was it.

We had to come from there to Newland Avenue, to the School there, it used to be Newland Methodist but its Newland Trinity Now, and we came there and they had everything that we wanted, coffee and everything. But we was fortunate because one of my mother鈥檚 sister鈥檚, Lynn, we were lucky as she took us in for a while, until we got the house. Then you could get houses quite easily. You use to just be able to go to the landlord and say, 鈥淗ave you got a house?鈥�

We got very little out of the old house. I was 17 at the time and I lost what few possessions I had. But we were lucky in the end as we got this house on Newland Ave and were able to start all over again, or at least my mother did.

I can remember going out as a teenager, you had a little torch where you went. I use to love to go out dancing; loved it. I used go to Pulford on Beverly Road, and Beverly Road Baths. When there was a raid they used to say; 鈥淲e have to tell all of you dancers, there鈥檚 a raid, they鈥檙e overhead now. You can either make for the shelters or carry on dancing.鈥� We always used to just carry on dancing, and I鈥檝e often thought about my mother, she must have been really worried. I mean you used to just go for a walk and she would never know if you would be coming home again or not!

There鈥檇 be a raid, it would be on all the night, but the next morning you鈥檇 be up for work. I used work for Needlers; you still had to get up and go to work no matter what had happened the night before; and you had to manage on so little with the rationing.

There was loads of Americans came to Hull and in Cottingham; in Cottingham there was a couple of halls there where we used to go to dance as well. We were well outnumbered and never short of a dance, but we were very good; very good. It was absolutely crowded with them over here.

One of my happiest memories of the war was when we got the new house. We had a gas cooker, a little cold tap in the back yard and an outside loo but we thought it was wonderful as we had a bath in the back kitchen with a lid on it. The water used to run out when you wanted to empty it, but it didn鈥檛 have any taps. You had to fill it with a bucket. It was absolutely fabulous!

I happened to be in London on VE day, we鈥檇 had some friends over from London, and I was waiting for my husband to come home from the Burma War. Well my auntie, from London, said; 鈥淐ome home with me for a little holiday.鈥� Well, I was in London on VE Day and, oh it was absolutely wonderful. I鈥檝e never had a feeling like it since. I don鈥檛 know where we were, we were in the middle of it all and in the middle of London is all I knew. Oh it was marvellous. It went on for about six months I think.

When my husband was from Newcastle and when came home it was very, very strange. He鈥檇 really changed a lot. It must have effected them as well. It was really hard. After the war I knew he was coming home but lots of people didn鈥檛.

I remember town centre being blitzed. I鈥檇 gone to pictures on Beverley Road, Mayfair Picture House, with my friend and bombs were dropping all over. They were falling all around us. I think what they were trying to get at was Sculcoates lane 鈥榗os there was Yorkshire Electricity. When we was leaving the cinema we kept having to lay flat on our faces in the road and we went all of the way home to Stepney lane like that, diving onto our faces. It took an awful long time to get home.
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Added by: Alan Brigham - www.hullwebs.co.uk

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