大象传媒

I was eight years old when the war started and can recall listening to the Prime Minister's broadcast telling the nation "we are now at war with Germany" and the very big headlines on the morning papers.
I am afraid that the majority of the kids found it all very exciting, a bit like a real life Cowboys and Indians film that we watched at the cinema matinees.
In fact despite the lack of luxuries such as chocolate and bananas and oranges and the meagre food rations, there was never a dull moment as we listened to the news and moved the flags on our war maps, which were on every child's bedroom wall. Picking up shrapnel (bits of bomb casing), and bullet and shell cases on the way to school after the air raids was fun, many cannon shell cases were polished up and used as brass ornaments on the fireplace. We all had a personal collection of shrapnel etc and used to do swaps as you would with a stamp collection.
So in spite of the privations of wartime and the fact that my parents were poor by today's standards, I had a very happy childhood.
The Blitz was a period between September 1940 and May 1941 when the german air raids were a nightly event sometimes they lasted most of the night. There were also quite a few during the daytime and one in particular affected us as a family.
One of the main targets for the bombers were airfields and Aircraft manufacturing plants of which Bristol had one of the largest at Filton, and my father worked there as foreman in the Toolroom. He also was one of the companies team of Air Raid wardens whose job it was to patrol the site during air raids, to put out Incendiary (fire bombs) before they could set buildings alight. The rest of his mates from the toolroom went to two air raid shelters allotted to that department, half in each.
The Air raid in question was on Monday 25th September 1940 it was a big one by German standards, and they lost many planes shot down by our fighters or guns. The raid was totally directed at Filton and there was much damage; although he was outside, and not in the shelter my father was unhurt physically. When he returned home much later than usual, he broke down in tears and wept for quite a while.... one of the shelters in which half of the men in the toolroom were situated ,received a direct hit from a german bomb and everyone was killed. He was late home because he had been recovering the bodies of his friends from the debris.. .it was the only time I ever saw my father weep.
I was attending school at Summerhill on the day in question, because the raid was in the afternoon we had to go the school air raid shelter. Our teacher was one of the school wardens and was outside on patrol with his steel helmet on, which was lucky for him because he was hit on the head by a piece of Shrapnel (bits of exploded anti-aircraft shells). I and several of my mates did see some of the air fights between our fighters and the germans, as the view of the sky over Filton was good from Summerhill.
My mother had gone down to town to do some shopping and was in Jones department store when the raid started. She, like everyone else had to go to the shelter, and while she was there someone said she had heard that the works at Filton were being heavily bombed. Mum always said afterwards that it was probably one of the worst moments of her life, and she prayed; and her prayer was answered when Dad returned home later in the day.
Janet my sister was born during the Blitz in fact like other babies born at the time she was called a Blitz baby.
During this period we spent most of the nights in the Air Raid Shelter which was small with four bunk beds and paraffin lamp and candles for emergency if the power station or electricity cables were hit by a bomb, it was situated at the bottom of our garden.
It was not easy to sleep with the noise of guns and bombs, and so if the raid lasted all night I didn't go to school the next day. (or anyone else, I might add)
One night before my sister Janet was born we were in our shelter and Mum asked me if I would like to have a baby brother or sister to play with; and my reply was "I would rather have a dog".

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