大象传媒

Harry talks about the blitz on the first night 22nd dec 1940. I left the depo in Sait
James Street at 6pm in the evening to make my way to the ARP post which was the mission at Traford Rd Salford, and as I walked in we got a yellow coded message warning, which meant an air raid was about to take place. Ten minutes after I got to the post we were ready for action, then during the first night we were walking towards Traford Bridge another messanger and I, a lad named John Nailer, he lived on Newpark Road, this was about 2.30 in the morning. We looked up to the sky and saw a parashoot decending, thinking it was a German Airman we grabed some bricks from a place called the Holler Croft, older people would know that place, anyway, we saw this flooting from the sky and ran towards it thinking it was a torpedo. When we got closer and had a good look it was about 18 to 20 feet loog with a parashot attached.
We ran into the post and told our story to the ARP Warrden. He came to look, and told us to knock all the houses up and tell the people to make their way to St Cyprans Church no body was allowed near this land mine. I have read in a book of the blitz that somebody wrote, that the Mill girls from Richard Howarths cotton Mill were taking parts of the parashoot as suvinors. I'm afraid that was wrong, because there was nobody allowed near it and the Royal Navy came and made it safe.
That was escape number one, number two was the dock offices, when they got hit, we heard the bombs screaming down so we droped to the floor and were showred with debre. When we went to the dock office the next day we were looking at a hole facing the dock gate, water was gusshing from it and little did we know that it was an unexploded bomb that actuallt did exploded some hours latter.
Owning to the land mine on the Croft we were all evacuated to the number two Post, which was Ordsal Boarding school, latter that night the second night of the blitz a land mine was droped at Bigland Street causing loss of life, we went to have look at the damaged caused by the raid which had finished the night before at about 4.30 am. Latter in the year salford Royal Hosiptal was hit and 14 nurses were killed.
Manchester United's grounds stands were a blase, we stood by the goal at Warwick Road end with incegery bombs exploding all around us on the pitch.
Latter that year I left the ARP and joined the Home Guards then in 1942, I recieved my calling up papers to report to the light inferentery in Maryhill Glasgow, were I commenced my basic six week training and was interviewed by the OC aswell, and was asked what redgement I would like to join and told them the Black Watch but was post to the Royal Enginers istead and latter took part in the D-Day Landing, going through France, Belgum and Holland. We finished up in Hamburg were the company was medically examined to go to the Far East untill they droped two bombs and that cancelled that mission.

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