大象传媒

At the beginning of the war, raids were very heavy over Birmingham.

Around 1940/1941 I had measles and was not allowed down our shelter which accommodated our neighbours and the general public coming in from the street.

One night during heavy bombing I was pushed under the kitchen table with my Mother and a lady I called Aunty Ivy. Ivy and her husband had been bombed out and rented two rooms upstairs from my parents. 'Uncle Bill' was too old to be called up and was employed as night watchman at our local Woolworths just down the road.

Suddenly our kitchen windows were blown out and the sky was alight. I recall someone coming round to tell my Mother that Woolworths had been raized to the ground. Aunty Ivy started crying and screaming. What she didn't know was her husband had broken regulations and slipped out to local public house for a quick pint. Obviously the best pint of beer he ever had - it SAVED HIS LIFE!!

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.