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Not long after the ‘Hagley Road West’ aircrash I was at my school in class at Four Dwellings, Qinton, when the Air Raid Sirens sounded. We hurried without any panic to the air raid shelters behind the school.

The fields were peppered with water-filled bomb craters from previous unsuccessful raids at night by German bombers who were trying to destroy the ‘BIRMETALS’ factory at Bartley Green. This factory made all types of light alloy sections and sheets for the aircraft industry and particularly for fighters such as the Spitfire which was all light alloy construction.

As we settled down in the shelters sitting on long wooden benches down each side we heard aero engines outside but could not see anything. German bombers were there to bomb Birmetals but suddenly there was the roar of fighters and the rattle of machine guns and possibly cannons. Our teaches of course leaned out of the doors and watched all the activity outside but didn’t tell us what we going on exactly. However it transpired that all was well and no damage was done to our planes or the factory.

On another occasion after a raid I arrived at the same school to find a bomber still burning with ammunition exploding just outside the front of the school. Rumours were rife was it German or ours, was it brought down by the local barrage balloon etc. and these questions still remain unanswered to this day, such was Wartime Secrecy!

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