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The year is 1940/41, the place; Llanbedrog in North Wales — a pretty little village by the sea.

My father, mother, elder sister and myself went there to have time away from the bombing. Hull was taking a nightly bombardment at that time. However, three of us were staying in a boarding house in Llanbedrog. My father had to return to Hull — because of his job; also, he fire-watched in East Hull.

The boarding house was owned by a family called James. We shared the accommodation with a family from Liverpool and three young RAF boys. The aerodrome was just a short distance away.

One night my mother and sister were awakened by the sound of an aircraft engine, coming in very low. They rushed to the rouse the household, being met on the landing by the family from Liverpool. They also knew only too well the aircraft they heard was a German bomber. The Welsh couple had never heard one before. However, they were soon in no doubt as our fears were confirmed by the fact that a large swastika was clearly visible as it flew past the house windows. By now, the RAF boys were running down the stairs, buttoning up their tunics as they went. Then the machine-gun fire started and all was confusion.

Within the next few hours we learnt with sadness that one lone German bomber had made straight for the airfield. The landing lights were switched on for it — expecting it to be one of ours. The machine-gun fire we heard was the plane flying so low that it killed some young lads in their beds. It then turned around and headed for home.

Afterwards, we learned that Herman Goering, the head of the Luftwaffe, had often spent short holidays in Llanbedrog and knew exactly the lay of the land and the flight-path on which to send the bomber.
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Added by: Alan Brigham - www.hullwebs.co.uk

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