大象传媒

I recall the night in March/April 1942 when having been awakened by the sirens and my Mother telling us to hurry up and dress,we my Mother,younger brother and I went to the front door preparatory to crossing the road to our area's surface shelter.
We were met but a wall of flame as a stick of incenderies had fallen immediately outside our house.Mother said "Quick out the back door".As we reached the back kitchen door there was a crash above, a rumbling sound and an incenderie had crashed through our roof,through the ceiling in my bedroom ,out the side bay window and rolled down the roof of the single storey kitchen roof and down into the back yard onto the only patch of earth in the yard and ignited thus barring our exit.
As Mother was deciding what to do the back door to the lane burst open and the local ARP Warden came in with a bucket of sand and extinguished the blaze.He said" Get back indoors they are coming down like raindrops so stay where you are!".We spent the rest of the night sheltering in the cupboard under the stairs.
Later when the roof,ceiling and window was repaired under War Damge the tail fin of the incenderie was found in the rafters.I still have it as a reminder of that night.It was a very exciting night for a eleven year old boy!
My diary of that year which i still have would be of interest to a psychiarist as many pages are full of sketches depicting falling bombs, explosions,planes crashing and other tales of collecting shrapnel after a night raid on my way to school and watching wardens and Army personnel digging people out of the ruins of their homes.
By David Steer.

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