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This story was gathered at Bedford’s VE/VJ Celebration event at Castle Mound and submitted to the People’s War site by Gillian Ridley for Three Counties Action on behalf of Gillian Lamble and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

During the war my Grandfather used to work for the gas Board.
When houses had been bombed the Gas board had to go in to check for Gas leaks to make sure everything was sound.
One of the things I remember him telling us was him entering houses and finding whole families still sitting at the dinner table, not a mark on them — all dead from the blast (lack of oxygen perhaps).

He used to play in a Big Band and used to go around the air bases entertaining.

My Mother worked as a Capstan lathe operator- fully trained- (as she still likes to remind us) she hated it though.

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