大象传媒

I was 14 when war broke out on September 3rd 1939 and a member of the 9th Coventry (St Paul鈥檚) Scout Group. The group was asked to provide messenger boys with cycles to serve with the newly formed A.F.S. (Auxiliary fire Service) and I put myself forward. This service was initially based at builders yards in the area, using lorries towing a Coventry Climax Pump, and I first attended a yard in Lythals Lane almost opposite the Greyhound Stadium, but this unit was soon amalgamated into the area headquarters at Holmsdale Rd, another builder鈥檚 yard, which had the advantage of the use of Broad St School cookery block as canteen and dormitory use. In the event of breakdown in communications, messengers were to carry messages between crew and station, but we all invariably went out on the back of the lorry.

The small air raids prior to Nov.14th 1940 which I attended were memorable more for the excitement than anything else, and on the 2nd Nov 1940 I was 16 yrs old , so of an age to enrol as a member of the A.F.S.. I was issued with Tunic, Trousers, Wellingtons, Coat, Gas mask, and Steel Helmet (which had 鈥淔IRE鈥� on it) all just in time for the 鈥渂ig one鈥�.

As I was employed at Alfred Herberts in Cross Road, it was my practice to report for evening duty straight from work 鈥� so it was on the 14th November 1940 鈥� and I joined a crew who were turning out to a chimney fire in Swanswell Street. It was whilst the ladders were up to the roof that the sirens sounded, but little did any of us realise what that night would portend. Incendiaries were falling all round the area, with explosions interspersed at frequent intervals. We attended numerous incidents around the area, even pumping water from the Swanswell Pool when the water mains supply was exhausted - due to smashed pipes. With no water supply and a damaged lorry, we decided to return to base on foot, and worked our way via George Elliot Road where we met up with other members from our station. It was here we did some rescue work on bomb-damaged property- unfortunately too late for some of the bodies recovered.

The 鈥渁ll clear鈥漵ounded to a scene that has been portrayed many times 鈥� suffice to say when I finally reached my home in Queen Mary鈥檚 Road, it was to find a land mine in Durbar Avenue had taken off the roof, smashed all windows and blown off doors, so I walked to my Gran鈥檚 in Henley Road where my mother was so relieved to know I was safe and uninjured.

The attached copy letters are self explanatory, but I should perhaps mention the circumstances of the Gordon Roscola letter. My father was in South Africa all during the war, and hearing of the Coventry Blitz wrote to ask for a first hand report. So this letter has travelled some 12000 miles to S.A and back 鈥� survived some 64 years 鈥� and been returned to me on the death of my father ( he evidently treasured it!).

The April 1941 blitz I was again on duty and spent most of the night at the Daimler Works in Radford which suffered a lot of damage and caused the death of quite a few A.F.S.personnel. I was then working at the Rover and that night the drawing office was burnt out. It was decided to move some draughtsmen up to Yorkshire to prepare a disused mill for conversion to aircraft production, and I and six others were despatched to Carleton-In-Craven, near Skipton. There I enrolled in the Home Guard, so swapping my black fireman鈥檚 tunic for a khaki battle dress and learning how to crawl across the moors and remain hidden from potential enemies.

August 1942 saw a return to Coventry and as a Home Guard was sent to the Rocket Battery at Wyken Croft, but before I could get the chance to fire back at our attackers, I was told to report to the A.T.C. at Frederick Bird School, as I had been accepted for aircrew duties in the R.A.F. but placed on deferred service. For once I did not wear A.T.C.uniform but contented myself with a silver R.A.F.V.R. lapel badge. Finally called for service in 1943, I did initial training at Newquay, Elementary Flying Training on Tiger Moths at Ansty Aerodrome, final training in South Africa ( where I saw my father for the first time in seven years) qualifying as Air Bomber and posted North to the Middle East on Wellingtons, then converting to Liberators.

V.E.day May 8th 1945 was spent in the Canal Zone, and as hostilities ceased we were posted to the Far East with a Liberator crew, but V.J.15th Sept.1945 put an end to my wartime adventures and I finally sailed back to the UK from Bombay in 1946

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