大象传媒

Joan was 10 when the war started in 1939. She remembers being measured up for her gas mask which was stored in a cardboard carrier fastened with string and which had to be carried around at all times. She also remembers that her family shared two Anderson shelters in their gardens, complete with beds and blankets in case the young children had to spend much time in there. There were quite frequent raids in Lemington, due to the proximity of Armstrong's in Scotswood.
Joan remembers one night when the air raid warnings sounded but they did not make it to the shelter in time, and had to hide under the table. She remembers seeing a plane flying through the sky lit up by searchlights and seeing the bombs falling from it. Two bombs landed nearby but luckily did not explode.
Joans husband had a near miss when the goods station was bombed in 1941, he was in the Apollo cinema on Shields Road at 10pm and by 11pm (by which time everyone had left) it was completely destroyed. Mr Baugh had taken refuge in an air raid shelter during the raid and got into trouble for being late home.
His mother also had a near miss when a shell casing fell through their house and landed on her pillow at a time when she would normally have been in bed. Luckily she was out at the time

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