大象传媒

THE LUMLEY SQUARE AIR-RAID

I was 18 years old in 1941, and was a boy message runner for the local Air Raid Wardens. It was late at night and I was tired, so I asked if I could go to bed please, as I had to get up in the morning to go to work.

I went into the house and saw the kettle on the boil, but I was so tired I went straight up the stairs. There were three off us in the bed, my two brothers at the top end and me in the middle at the bottom. I just got laid down when the bomb dropped. When the floor collapsed, I fell down into the debris and they had to dig me out. Being buried alive was a terrifying experience.

My parents and grandfather were also trapped in the house. We all walked barefoot to the Hartlepool鈥檚 Hospital, but they did not keep us in.

There was also a family from the Birmingham area, who moved to escape the heavy bombing, living in the Square. Their house was destroyed and they were all killed, except for the baby girl. She survived and we still keep in touch to this day.

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