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Jack Martin ‘More Memories of Lasting Significance’

After a night in the shelter, which was built on waste ground left by a burned out wood-yard, we would walk back home in the growing light of dawn. The smell of air bourn soot, the crunch of broken glass underfoot and net curtains hanging out over window sills are still remembered. Many Hull people would experience this. They would call in the darkness to each other, asking if they had all got out OK. One memorable night, when I was 12 years old we were woken by the dog wimpering as he pulled the bed-clothes off us. The sirens had not sounded. We all knew the sound of a German bomber’s engines, but on this night we couldn’t hear anything. However, Mick the dog could! We banged on a few of the neighbours doors on the way just as the wailing of the sirens started up and ran to our allotted bunkers and waited. It seemed to go quiet for a while and then BANG! BANG! There had been two massive explosions in a short space of time at the top of the street which was around about 100 yards away. A ripple, caused by these explosions, ran through beneath us causing a lady to scream and catapult herself across Aunt Em’s legs. Two men came in to help as Aunt Em couldn’t do anything as she had both her arms around her two daughters and her hands over their ears! Two terraced end houses were totally destroyed and adjacent properties made uninhabitable. Once again the smell of air bourn soot prevailed and as we walked the crunch of broken glass could be heard as we watched the net curtains gently fluttering over window sills nearby!

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