大象传媒

Baedeker bombing raids Norwich 1942

Killed stone dead.

I felt the panick of a 3 and a half year old, who knew the what the sound of the warning air raid siren meant. apparently Tithe bombing raids lasted several nights but I only remember one .
I knew what a German bomber sounded like and what bombs could do. My brother who was older did not want to go down the air raid shelter because being in that tightly enclosed space worsened his chance of getting an Asthma attack.
We crowded into the small shelter in the front Garden . In the front garden because mother thought if the shelter was hit by a bomb somebody would notice. Biscuits were brought by a family friend wearing a tin hat.
The all clear sounded. Blinking my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night sky.; I looked up at the bedroom windows which seemed to be dancing in firelight. Is the house on fire,? I asked fearfully. No I was reassured. Perhaps it was the light of the moon.
In the morning I found out the worst had happened. The house was not damaged as far as I could tell. But my heart was very saddened . The tropical fish in our fish tank had been all killed stone dead; all floating upside down. we never kept fish again.

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