大象传媒

Home made bomb!

I was 6 years old in September 1939 so my memories of the war years are from a young child鈥檚 viewpoint. I remember having time off school while the ground floor classrooms were converted to air-raid shelters, and of me having to carry a gas mask to school with me every day 鈥� my baby sister was terrified of her 鈥渋ncubator type gas mask鈥�.
I remember queuing at the Coop for the weekly rations 鈥� it always took at least an hour and also of having to take our own newspaper with us if we went out to buy fish and chips!
Playing outside in the blackout was fun as we stayed out past bed-time and couldn鈥檛 be found by my mother 鈥� it was worth the telling off we got.
The incident which made the most impact on me though occurred a few days after VE day. My father put some coal on the fire unaware that a small explosive charge from the coal mine was among the coal. As he stood talking to his mother there was a loud explosion followed by lots of smoke and soot! My grandmother got such a shock that she flung her arms around my father鈥檚 neck and screamed 鈥淭he Germans have come, the Germans have come!鈥�
It was difficult to get her release her grip and my dad was almost choked. On top of that he suffered for days afterwards as his back and bottom had been peppered with red hot coals! We were all frightened until my father recovered enough to tell us what must have happened. I realise now how worried my grandmother must have been when an invasion was expected 鈥�

Joyce Haley

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