大象传媒

I was nine years old when the war started and living at Wrenbury Hall Farm with my parents and three elder brothers. Stanley was the eldest and in the Fire Service (AFS), Norman was in the local Home Guard (Dads Army!) and Roger and myself were still at school.

We walked to school in Wrenbury and carried our gas masks in cardboard boxes hung round our necks. Air Raid Drill meant going into the school air raid shelter and this was a frequent occurrence. Evacuees came from Liverpool and Guernsey and stayed with us until the end of the war.
In 1942 I started at Nantwich and Acton Grammar School, cycling the 4 miles everyday. Air raids continued to be a normal part of school life. Most nights there were enemy planes flying over and in November 1942 bombs were dropped in the area, blowing out windows in the Trufood factory and many of the fields around had bomb craters.

When air raids were imminent the siren would first sound in Crewe, followed by Nantwich and finally at Wrenbury Hall which was only 300 yards from my bedroom. The local Auxiliary Fire Service were based at our farm and kept their Pump with them and also cooked in our kitchen. We had two hours extra daylight in summer and after homework we helped with the Harvest.

To celebrate the end of the war in Europe a special school assembly was held.

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