大象传媒

I was five years old and I remember my granddad coming to see mum and saying, "War had been declared" - Mum was expecting my sister at the time. Dad was in the Home Guard in Wyken Croft. We were always glad when he came home. During the air raids my grandma and grandad, Aunties, Uncles came to our house, not far from their own. I don't know why? I remember them sitting around telling us stories. We had an indoor shelter and when a raid started mum used to come into the bedroom and say, "Put your siren suit on" and myself and my sister who was a baby at the time would be put into the shelter.

It was quite a while that the shelter was taken away from the front room. Dad made a metal trivet to go on front of fire and mum always seemed to have a stew bubbling on there from the vegetables out of garden and off the allotment.

I had another sister born durring the war. And before we had the indoor shelter, we slept in the pantry during a raid as the water tank was over the top. If we had been hit we would have got a good soaking.

I remember dad taking me to see the old cathedral after it was bombed, and going up Ball hill on the bus I remember the houses near Brighton road were just bombed out shells. I still remember that when I pass them now.

When I first started school it was at Parish Hall in Wyken Croft (its still there). Before a shelter was built at the site we had to run homewhen the sirens went off. Mum would meet me half way as she had to leave my sister at home in her pram. we learnt a lot about togetherness and sharing. I was 10 years old when the war ended and by then was at Ravensdale school.

I also remember a incendary bomb being dropped outside our front gate and a bomb dropped inthe fields at the back, Brixham drive is there now.

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