大象传媒

(This story was submitted to the People's War site by Janette Hill of Age Concern Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, on behalf of George Broadbent, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.)

When war broke out I was 25, and in a reserved occupation as an apprentice at a factory in Darlaston, which during the war manufactured parts for the armed forces - ammunition, and parts for aircraft, tanks, torpedo boats, etc.

Before war started I was in the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), which supplemented the permanent fire service in the Midlands. During the war I continued for a while, which left me with my most harrowing memory. After the 'all clear' had sounded, I was rolling up the fire hose and making up the equipment ready to leave, when I saw an Alsatian dog trotting along the street with something in his mouth: it was a child' arm. I was allowed just one day to get over it.

The AFS eventually moved to another site, so I left them for the Home Guard. This was hopelessly ill-equipped, with no proper weapons in the early days - we had to make do with whatever we could find, such as wooden sticks. If there had been an invasion, we wouldn't have stood a chance - but fortunately the Battle of Britain saved us.

There were raids most nights. An anti-aircraft gun was installed nearby, a target for the German bombers, and one night they destroyed the Co-op store on the West Bromwich/Wednesbury border. I also remember fire bombs spraying over an expanse of water, making quite a display.

In the evening, fire wardens used to go round checking houses for any chinks of light. At some houses with an entry between them one householder was warned to put out a visible light. A voice suddenly boomed down the entry, "If I could get down there I'd put your b....y light out!"

To aid the evacuation of Dunkirk, two pleasure steamers from Evesham were taken. I had travelled on them, and thought how amazingly hard it must have been to use them amidst all the bombing - one was destroyed.

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