大象传媒

It was a very bright night and the raid started very early. Me my mother and brother went to Cox Street club, my dad went to work at Morris and my two sisters ended up in the crypt of the cathedral. Part of Cox street club has a glass roof, when the incendiary bombs hit we had to go down into the cellars, because all the glass came down. There was a bed in the cellar and all the children had to sit on it. The blast of the bomb blew us off the bed and on to the beer barrels were we hit our heads. We were in there till the next morning until the all clear. Then we went across the road to where we lived in New Street.

As a child I had not realised how bad it had been that night. Our house was bombed. We had two hens and a cockerel, which were in the bomb crater still alive. The chickens had to be sent to live at the Cox street club until we found somewhere else to live. The dog was up the chimney and went mad and had to be put down. The budgie was dead which was also up the chimney due to the bomb blast. The cage was crushed with the bird in it.

There was no food and water. It was a few days later that mobile vans started deliveries of sandwiches. There were a few families in Cox street club. My brother and me were water monitors and collected water from Paul Meadow.

The morning after the blitz there were people all over from different shelters and everywhere was on fire. It was like Hell in fact I have seen Hell now.

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