大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War Website by a volunteer from 大象传媒 Southern Counties on behalf of Douglas Tyler and has been added to the site with his permission. Douglas Tyler fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

In August 1939, when I was aged ten, I was on holiday on the Isle of Mull in Scotland with my mother and father. Whilst on holiday there, my father spotted five destroyers and several oil tankers off the coast. I clearly remember his words, "This looks like trouble". His instinct told him something was wrong, and he insisted we return home immediately. Within one week war was declared.

We returned home to where we lived in Ferriby in North Yorkshire. We lived about 7 miles away from the port of Hull. It became an important port in the war, as it was the convoy assembly point for transporting supplies to Holland and Norway.

Once war had begun I was evacuated for 6 months, and then returned to the family home in Hull. I'd always had a wonderful view from my bedroom window as our house was on high ground. I watched the blitz on Hull from my bedroom window. The sky was ablaze with colours and alight with fire.

My mother worked locally in an estate hall manufacturing camouflage nets. Brown and green strips of fabric were issued and the nets were made by hand. Everyone had a part to play in the war.

Father was employed in the National Provincial Bank in King Edward Street, Hull. He was also a fire watcher during the war. A German bomber dropped a parachute mine on the Currys store and it was completely obliterated. Father was at work in the bank close by on this day. The bank felt the blast but wasn鈥檛 damaged. However, father was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was blown across floor of the bank in the blast. We didn鈥檛 know about the incident until he came home that night and told us about it.

It must have been his lucky day !

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