大象传媒

Dora鈥檚 Story by Dora Pugh

There were four of us driving the ambulances: Jim, who was nearly 60, myself at just over 20 and two young boys Joseph and James, we were voluntary. We didn鈥檛 get paid because Matron told us 鈥� somebody鈥檚 got to go 鈥� I鈥檇 only driven a horse and dray. I used to have curly hair and a policeman standing around by Lewis鈥檚 said 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the trouble, Curly?鈥� I said 鈥� I can鈥檛 get round the bend or I鈥檒l go into that window!鈥� Jim only told me all I wanted to know: how to start and how to stop. We weren鈥檛 taught anything else at all. There were more (ambulance drivers) from other areas but there were a lot who didn鈥檛 come back.

There were police and other people in caps, shouting directions to us. 鈥楰eep to the Left! Turn Right!鈥� You couldn鈥檛 have any light, you didn鈥檛 know where you were. Jim often went to the Cemetery, because they used to have big places 鈥� Methodist, Baptist Catholic and so on. You had to be very careful how you got round. People killed were put in (body) bags. I remember bursting out crying when the bodies of five nurses were put into these bags; I think two of them were (hospital) Sisters.

That night, it seemed the Germans were trying to get near the Austin Motor Works. What with lights flashing and casualties, it was very difficult indeed, dreadful. I was very relieved to get back, thinking nothing would be as bad as that, so I thought. 鈥榊es, I鈥檒l be able to stand it and get through it鈥�. But then there came another night. It was continual bombing in Birmingham buit not on a heavy scale. Up at Holloway Head, near Queens Hospital, the church was bombed, had a direct hit 鈥� a lovely church, where I鈥檇 often worshipped because of working near there.

When the mains and the sewer were bombed, we had to go carefully with water. My brother鈥檚 farm at Wetheroak near Alvechurch, had five springs. He came to Birmingham the first time with just two, seventeen gallon tankers. That was not very much, really. We had to wash our face with a flannel, with five or six of us sharing it. Because it was my brother, Matron always saw to it that I had a drink. Oh, I was glad! I thought it was just wonderful to get a drink!

The best night we had was Bristol. They brought us bread and mustard sandwiches 鈥� I did enjoy them. It was so cold. There was no bombing on Christmas Day or January 1st, but after that there was plenty of bombing.

But a few nights afterwards, we were called to Coventry. It seemed a ball of fire to me as we approached it. The bombs were raining on it 鈥� one a minute I should think and many bombers over. All of a sudden, great lumps of concrete came from the Cathedral. Nobody within ten yards of it could have got out. To see this beautiful Cathedral, with the lovely , coloured glass windows crashing and all on the floor! The Children鈥檚 Home and an old People鈥檚 Home both had a direct hit.

It went quiet for a bit and my companion said, 鈥楾hank god for that. We鈥檒l get a drink of water if we can.鈥� The mains and sewer were bombed. Suddenly, (and this will live in my memory for ever and ever) there was a dear old soul coming up from below probably from a cellar. She was holding this chipped, cracked mug and all her clothes were ragged. I said to Joe: 鈥業鈥檒l take her to hospital and II told her they鈥檇 get her a nice dress and that. But before she went, she said, 鈥楯ust have a sip of water, dear. Only a sip.鈥� I was parched. Oh, I was so thankful. She said, 鈥業鈥檝e been splashing it; it was nearly full and I鈥檝e got down to hardly anything now鈥�. Then after more silence, they came over with sort of black balloons and as they reached the ground or just before, they exploded. It was like treacle but it was TAR and then it started spraying about, like a fountain, People were screaming and crying out with pain. They hadn鈥檛 got helmets and coats like us. (We were given hard hats and coats because of the rain and cold and we had red rubber (gauntlet) gloves. Jim wouldn鈥檛 wear them but he wished he had because he had some of this awful tar. He wanted to wipe my face with something to get it off but he had to do that with a nappy 鈥� a used one!

I brought six patients at a time, two lying on the (ambulance) floor, the others more comfortable. I wanted blankets for them because it was cold. I never got the patients OUT of the ambulance, there were people to do that. 鈥楴o need to get out, lovely鈥� they said, 鈥楪o straight back! Look, we can鈥檛 take any more. Go to Nuneaton!鈥� I said. 鈥榃here鈥檚 Nuneaton?鈥� 鈥楥oventry way. There鈥檒l be people shouting.鈥�

They were very nice there. Two women were wiping my face. They said, 鈥極h we鈥檝e got stuck with all this black stuff you鈥檝e got all over you! It can鈥檛 have come down!鈥� I said. 鈥業t was dreadful.鈥� (There were patients at the Queen鈥檚 Hospital and the staff didn鈥檛 know what to do about the tar.) They said, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got it all over your helmet.鈥� I was stuck to the ambulance seat; Matron gave me some rags to sit on. She said, 鈥楢re your knickers all right?鈥� I said, 鈥業 think so.鈥� I thought of my sisters in London, wondering how they were. I couldn鈥檛 get in touch with them. We got to Coventry at 5.30 in the afternoon and we didn鈥檛 leave there until 10 past 6 in the morning. I was really worn out. Matron asked me and I just broke down. I couldn鈥檛 tell her anything.

It was something I never dreamt people could do 鈥� I never knew that sort of thing was manufactured. I used to weep a lot but Jim said, 鈥業t鈥檚 no use crying. We鈥檙e in a war now. It鈥檚 getting worse鈥� and I said, 鈥榃ell nothing can be worse than this鈥� and nothing was. I was quite an innocent person, having been brought up in an orphanage. I鈥檓 glad that my son, grandchildren and great-grandchild won鈥檛 see anything like it. Sometimes, well you wondered if there WAS a God but there always has been and always will be where I鈥檓 concerned.
This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Sue Russell of the 大象传媒 on behalf of Mrs Dora Pugh and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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