大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from the CSV Action Desk at Radio Lincolnshire on behalf of Shirley Mapleston and has been added to the site with her permission. Shirley Mapleston fully understands the site's term and conditions"

During 1941 and 1942 my brother Tony and I lived with our grandparents in lascelles Avenue, Withernsea, East Yorkshire because our mother, Noreen, had a lengthy illness. Air raid sirens and German planes flying over were an everyday occurrance. Some days the planes could be seen quite clearly as they passed over on their way to bomb Hull.

One night during an air raid we were in our usual shelter - the cupboard under the stairs - when we heard several explosions.

The verandah at the back of the kitchen was on fire. My grandfather (George) went to the front door to call floor help. Initiallyno-one came but evetually we were taken to the next door neighbours and I remember thinking that German soldiers would be coming to take us away.

After the fire had been put out my grandmother (Isabella) found my vests, along with other garments, had been left in the wash basket and had been burnt and were no longer wearable.

My father (Leslie) came the next day from Grantham where he was employed at Aveling Barford building tanks and he found tracer bullet holes in the roof and we were told that a house six doors away had been flattened by other bombs dropped from the same plane. There had also been another bomb droppd in a field at the bottom of the garden which left a crater.

I know that my father and grandparrnts argued about a safer place to shelter other than under the stairs. My father maintained that under a large dining table was safer but he lost the argument even though there was a gas meter under the stairs.

Despite the lack of vests our lives seemed relatively normal as far as I can remember and our nightly treat was ice-cream wafers and home made jam with a mug of milk ( the mug that sits in my cabinet still). As there were no biscuits then, my grandmother had purchased the wafers by the box from the local ice cream shop because there was no ice cream either.

I also attended school in Withernsea close to my grandparents home and when the sirens sounded a lot of the children were allowed to go home. i was never allowed to do this and I never knew why.

July 2005 for WW2 People's War

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.