大象传媒

Although barely 10 years old at the outbreak of war, i was old enough to feel the worry and concern that my parents were going through. Dad had been wounded in the first war while serving in the army, and so had seen first hand the terror that war can bring.
We lived in a nice quiet road in Luton, and dad had a job at the huge Vauxhall car plant. I suppose as the crow flies, maybe not much more than a mile away. He decided that our house was a bit close to a possible target for enemy bombers,especially as the production of cars,was quickly switched to army trucks and tanks.
So,we moved a bit farther away, which was felt to be a bit safer away from the factory.
It was now August 1940, we had settled in to our new house, and my sisters and some friends were enjoying a nice sunny day in the back garden. We heard a drown of aircraft, looking up we saw a formation of planes, but as the siren had not sounded, we assumed all was safe, but next to no time, bombs were falling down on Luton with huge explosions. When the bombing stopped we could see a huge plume of black smoke coming up from the direction of the Vauxhall factory. Dad's theory was right, the factory was a target, and 39 people lost their lives that day, and many more suffered terrible injuries. It was early evening before dad eventually made it home that day, but i can still recall the anxiety we all suffered waiting to see him come through the front door.

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