大象传媒

I was born in 1937 in Liverpool, where my parents had a cycle shop in Tunnel Road, half a mile from Edge Hill Railway station and sidings, one of the Luffewaffe's targets. Fortunately they were unsuccessful, though many homes in the immediate vicinity were hit. I can remember the brown sticky paper strips on all the windows to help prevent the glass shattering, and the black-out curtains which had to be put up each night. We had our own air-raid shelter in the back yard, which we slept in every night, not waiting for the dreaded air-raid siren to sound. My mother had stocked the shelter with emergency rations, which included a bottle of rhubarb wine - probably my grandfathers- and which I discovered one evening and finished off after being left safely tucked up. I don't think any bombs would have woken me that night, I was well and truly 'out'.

During the worst of the bombing I was evacuated with my mother to Coedporth near Wrexham, but it was not a happy placing and we soon returned home, my mother preferring to face Herr Hilter - at least that鈥檚 what she told me! I can remember the huge barrage balloons, and at night watching the searchlights criss-crossing the sky. We had an attic window in the roof and I remember the night Lewis's Store was hit, and being lifted up to see the sky alight with the flames of the burning city - presumably after the 'all-clear'. My father was one of the local fire-wardens, and I would wait with anticipation to see if he would bring back any shrapnel to add to my collection.

The picture of me on my bike was taken circa 1940, the houses on the left later taking a direct hit. The other picture shows the shop in Tunnel Road, which did survive- though has long since been demolished.

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