大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Elizabeth Perez of Stockport Libraries on behalf of David Dunne and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Dunne fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

In 1940 I was all of two years old and the earliest memory I have is of the wail of sirens. It always seemed to be at night. It was eerie and frightening because I knew it would be followed by a lot of banging. My Father would come into the bedroom and take me downstairs where we had a Morrison shelter in the front-room complete with bedding insdie it. It had a caste iron top surrounded by a metal cage.

Elastic was always in short supply because of the scarcity of rubber. But my Father was in the motor trade and I needed some braces to hold my trousers up, so he made them for me out of Red Motor inner tubing.

I just loved dried egg. It came in tins from the U.S.A.

My Father was a Sergeant in the Home Guard Detachment on Denton Golf Course, where one of the soldiers was killed while handling a hand grenade. Years later when the M60 Motorway was being built near the Reservoir, the contractors unearthed a cache of grenades, and it always remained a mystery as to where they came from. Perhaps Dad's Army could have enlightened them.

In 1944 I attended the Denton West End School. One day a group of Italian P.O.W.s marched past to the working farm near the Dane Bank Hotel. I don't know where the camp was.

Our cinema was the Rota behind the Bull's Head terminus. The interior was beautiful, the draped curtains and lighting was sheer Art Deco. The interlude music was always "In the mood". It certainly would have been rated a Grade 11 listed building today.
Just after the war they reinstated Children's Matinees, 6d downstairs 9d upstairs. In those days
they had a commissionaire whose nickname was "Rota Jack". He had been a Sergeant in the First World War. He was only 5'5", had a glass eye and what we then called a peg leg. He never smiled and suspected everybody of being involved in villainy.
The Manager was a Larry Grayson type of character, and when walking down the street always carried a chihuahua dog, but when on duty he looked immaculate in a black tie and a tuxedo.
The newsreel and sometimes the main feature were shared with the Cosmo Picture House on Wellington Street in Gorton. Can you imagine two cinemas using the same reels, no copies then. It called for some pretty slick footwork and a ride of the 32 Tram (no taxis) by the assistant projectionist.

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