大象传媒

When I was six years old,the War had been going on for about for about three years.I was now at a age where I was begining to take notice,and ask questions about the war.At that time I lived with my mum and dad
in a small terraced house in Mary Street Darwen . The first memories I recall about those war years,bring to mind "the black out". We had blinds at our windows,black on the outside,and green on the inside,with some black paper tape stuck to the glass around the edges,so that not even a glimmer of light would show on the streets.However on one occasion,I can remember mum and dad having to give me "a good talking to",because unknown to them I had been fiddling with the blinds,and they had got stuck,needless to say it was the local "bobby" that called later to complain about the light from our window.
I can also remember that behind our kitchen door,we would have a bucket of sand, a stirrup pump,and a length of hose.Dad had told me they were there in case a "fire bomb" was dropped on our house from one of the enemy planes.
Dad was unable to serve in the forces.He had been born with a deformed right hand.That is why he worked as a night watchman for the M.O.S.at a nearby factory they had taken over to help to make shell cases for the war effort.I think by doing that job,he felt he was"doing his bit"
Mum and I would take his supper down to his place of work.We needed to enter the factory by the loading bay entrance,and I can recall "playing " on the boxes of shell cases,as they awaited despatch to one of the nearby R.O.F. factories.
Finally I can recall the town playing fields being covered in old large scraps of earthenware drainage pipes,that was to prevent the enemy aircraft from landing there.
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