大象传媒

I was born in Hull,Yorkshire,England in 1937, at 11 Florence Avenue,Kimberley Street, in the centre of Hull. My father was Stanley HAMSON,had a full time job and was a member of the Hull Auxiliary Fire Service(A.F.S.)At the age of five years I attended Thomas Stratten Boys School from 1942 through the War years. Some of the memories I have of the War years in Hull, were hearing the loud sound of the Air Raid Sirens going off to warn the people of the probable forthcoming Air Raid by German Luftwaffe aircraft, being pushed under the dining room table to escape from the shattering glass of broken windows being blown in by bomb blasts, having to hurriedly dress into a Siren suit(the name given to a one piece suit, usually made by ones mother and easy to pull on in an emergency)and dash into the nearest Air Raid Shelter, which in our case was at the end of the Terrace. This was made of brick, re-inforced with concrete and which had bunk beds prepared in case of a long stay during an Air Raid. When an Air raid occurred during School time, we had shelters in the School playground, in which we would be shepherded into by our School teachers. I can remember being lifted onto my fathers shoulders during one nights bombing and seeing enemy aircraft in the sky above Hull and which were lit up by searchlights. In 1941, my father who was in the A.F.S. was transferred to the National Fire Service(N.F.S.) as a full time fireman, and was thus exempt from Military Service, as the N.F.S. was regarded as a frontline job. He spent many days and nights fighting fires around the Hull district and was based at the then Central Fire Station, which backed onto the Little Theatre in Hull. I can remember the Terrace railings being taken down and any other scrap metals being collected and taken away, which I understood was used for melting down and used in the "War Effort". I can remember near houses being hit direct with bombs and never again seeing many of my School friends and neighbours. I remember my mother sending me to the corner shop with an empty jam jar to be filled with Syrup or jam, as tins were not available for sometime after. My mother used to machine-make clothing for friends and neighbours out of blankets, as clothing was too expensive, or not obviously readily available. I can remember having dried egg powder instead of fresh eggs, having ration books and having to tear out tokens to obtain food, clothing and sweets. All of this was every day living. When the War ended, I can remember celebrating with the crowds in the Queens Gardens, the noise, the laughter and the tears and the Street parties and the decorations and the writing on the brick walls showing how happy most people were.We also received at School, a packet of oats, a tin of apple juice and some fresh fruit, which had been sent by our Commonwealth friends in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, together with a message from King George VI, dated 8th June, 1946. "To-day, as we celebrate Victory, I send this personal message to you and all other boys and girls at school. For you have shared in the hardships and dangers of a total war and you have shared no less in the triumph of the Allied Nations. I know you will always feel proud to belong to a country which was capable of such supreme effort; proud, too, of parents and elder brothers and sisters who by their courage, endurance and enterprise brought victory. May these qualities be yours as you grow up and join in the common effort to establish among the nations of the world unity and peace". and on the reverse of this message was a list of Important War Dates to remember.

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