大象传媒

This is a family story passed down from my mother.
Terry Brolly

Winkie was a very intelligent family cat - more like a dog really, so my mother says. She would perform tricks and fetch things on command. Every night she would faithfully wait for my mother to come home from school, always sitting at the end of the street at the exact time.

During the War, my mother was evacuated to Penrith to live with her sister, leaving Winkie at home.

Hebburn is situated on the south banks of the Tyne and it was a prime target for German bombers. One night Glenn Street, where my grandparents lived, was bombed. Many homes were destroyed and people lost their lives. Winkie went missing and the family thought she was lost.

Three months later, my great-uncle was walking down the main street in Hebburn. It was very busy with shoppers. Jimmy, as we knew him, suddenly felt a thud on his shoulder and when he looked up, there was Winkie, emaciated and howling, but safe. Nobody knew where she had gone during this time. She went on to live another three years after this experience.

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