大象传媒

I lived in Keighley during the war, where I was a school child.

One incident about the war that I remember particularly well is an unpleasant event that occurred in Lumb Park during 1942. At the time there were lots of troops stationed in Keighley and they regularly used Harden Moor for training practice. Local boys regularly ventured onto the moor to look for contraband, the most popular items being magnesium flares, which were dismantled and the magnesium used to make fireworks. I remember how one day the area was rocked by a particularly large explosion that seemed to have come from the Grafton Road entrance to the park. Being a curious child I ran to see what had happened and I remember seeing two boys covered in sacks, dead as a result of playing with bombs they had brought down from the moor. I remember vividly that one of them was definitely a local lad from Holycroft School.

The biggest restriction on everyday life was the lack of fuel. Everywhere, including indoor places were always cold especially during the winter and there were some very harsh winters. The warmest place was usually school, although on many occasions the milk would arrive frozen and we had to thaw it out on the radiators. On the rare occasions however when even this boiler broke down, no-one was ever sent home and everybody had to endure lessons in the freezing cold.

Both of my brothers saw active service during the war with one serving in the army and the other serving in the RAF. My parents both remained at home.

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