大象传媒

Experiences of air raids in Liverpool and Manchester

You had those trips through Manchester at that time, to see Hugh. You were travelling to York?
Rose: No I went to Liverpool.
Hugh: When was that time you got stuck in Manchester, in that raid?
Rose: Oh Gordon had been up staying with us for a few days I was taking him home for Christmas.
How old was Gordon at the time?
Hugh: About two.
Rose: No about four.
You were on a passenger train that was in a depot at Manchester
Rose: No. We were coming home. He had been with us and on the Saturday I was taking him home and I thought if I go up, its getting dark and it was right in the middle, about 4-5 days before Christmas. I thought I won't go right into town I'll get a cross country tram and get home to my mums on that one.
So this is from York?
Rose: From York back to Liverpool, so I got off at Edge Hill. I got this cross country car but by the time, there a big ramp there because it鈥檚 a big sorting yard.
You were still on the train?
Rose: No, walking. I had got off the train. Walking up this ramp with a case and the little fellow, Gordon, with me, and the sirens went. So I got to the top of the road and thought Oh God. Bang bang, bang, all the anti-aircraft starts opening up well actually you don't know if its anti-aircraft or bombs, its just one hell of a noise. So, I heard some glass smashing and jumped in a door way with Gordon and the air raid warden comes along and says 鈥淟isten dear you can't stay here it far, far too dangerous鈥�. He said 鈥淐ome on, I'll take you to a shelter鈥�. And he took me round the corner into what is known as Wavertree Road and he took me down into this cellar all these people inside. It turned out it was a bakers cellar where he stored all the flour and stuff. Now they'd put forms, you know like wooden forms, and I sat from about 6 o鈥檆lock at night until 5 o鈥檆lock in the morning on one of these things with Gordon on my knee fast asleep. I was just about at screaming point and all night long it had never stopped it was going hell for leather all night and I thought I can't stand any more of this. So what they used to do is for an hour after the raid finished they didn't right away they would sound the all clear and leave an hour to clear the streets.
Hugh: The pavements of windows and glass.
Rose: Of casualties and anything like this. And I thought to hell with this. Well, I knew I had friends just a few streets away and I thought I'll go to Annie and Dots house and have a cup of tea and get back home to my Mum鈥檚 house. And I was up to my, and I woke Gordon up and said 鈥淐ome on son, we'll go and see Auntie Annie and Auntie Dot. We got up the stairs and the air raid warden said, 鈥淟isten love you can鈥檛 go out yet, you mustn't go out, the all clear hasn't gone鈥�. And I said, 鈥淟ook if I don't get out of here I'm going to go mad.鈥�. I said 鈥淚'll take responsibility鈥� And you know, I was nearly up to my ankles in broken glass and stuff. Anyway, I got to their house and they said come on Rose, lie down. And they had a truckle bed underneath the stairs and I put Gordon in that and I sat in a chair and we both must have fell fast asleep exhausted. Anyway they woke me up about 11 o鈥檆lock. and they got me a taxi to take me home to my Mums. That was on the Saturday night. I was at my Mums on Sunday; the sirens went again but it wasn't bad that night. On the Monday I thought I'm not leaving it too late got to get back to York because we were in digs there. I got on the train at 4 o鈥檆lock, got into Manchester at half past 4 or 5 o鈥� clock and I was stuck there in the marshalling yards that what - you know great big area.
You were still on the train?
Rose: I was still on the train, couldn't get off the train because we were miles, well we weren't miles away, but we were away from the platforms and the whole of Manchester seemed to be on fire. You've seen these buildings, infernos like that all. Mind you they pulled the curtains down on the trains (window). I was in the raid, in the middle of it. And I looked out of the window to see if it was dying down a bit you know and its just chaos. Dantes inferno. And they had a glass roof at Piccadilly, there in Manchester on the station and that was smashed; walls collapsing 鈥� terrible.
Hugh: Its surprising Gordon wasn't traumatised as a child isn't it?
Were you by yourself?
Rose: Yes I was on my own I got home to York eventually at 2 o鈥檆lock in the morning. The place was dead. Managed to scramble home to where we lived got in got into the bed. That was the worst night of my life. It had stated on the Saturday night and I had it again on the Monday. I thought to myself I'm never going to make this weekend alive. The odds were against me and I was running out of options, you know. I hate war. To have been through it, suffered the indignity of it; the meagre clothing and food. Life wasn't worth living half the time. You were working double the hours that you would normally work and your life was no better for it. And then they started this racket of the "wide boys", remember they used to buy coupons off people with gangs of kids. Clothing coupons. They would buy these coupons and sell them.
Hugh: What did they call those blokes? Spivs, that was it.
Rose: If you had money, and you were working during the war, they had money those people working at the factory, those people who had regular work and they knew somebody who could supply coupons, they were living the life of Riley. There鈥檚 always somebody making something out of whatever's going on.
Hugh: The biggest laugh we had those times was when the Queen or the Queen Mother or someone sent her ration book down to the village to get her meat ration! (ha ha.... lots of laughter) They were slaughtering deer in the highlands. Have you heard anything so ridiculous?
Rose: They were determined to live like the people on their rations Oh God well if I had your opportunities missus I wouldn't!
Hugh: What a stupid thing to put in the papers
Rose: And the queen going to see the people in the bombed houses, you know all the homes gone, fur coat on and hat you know, hello (in posh voice).
Hugh: A lot of them slept in the tubes at night.
Rose: Oh my auntie.
Hugh: But they never open the Mersey Tunnel it was used for industry - aircraft were going through.
Rose: Well it was only opened in 1935.
Did they have the underground railway?
Rose: Yes.
Was that used?
Rose: Well my auntie used to live in Queen Drive you know where that is don't you? By the Jolly Miller. She used to go every night down to Dale street underground and sleep there with the two boys, oh no her grandchildren. Two two boys, you know the ones who were taken (captured) at Crete.
Hugh: Dale street? I thought they wouldn't let them in the tunnels.
Rose: Yes, no they would. She used to go down there. Well she'd come from that part of Liverpool and she knew people and they used to keep one another鈥檚 spaces on the platform.
What stage did you move back to live with your mum?
Rose: That was when he was, When did you go? You went to Linton didn't you?
Hugh: Yep
You didn't follow him, you went back to your Mum?
Rose: Well you couldn鈥檛 get digs with a child, they didn't want to know, So I was back home with my mum.

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