大象传媒

Charles Venables, my father, was born in 1938,one of four siblings.Born in Bath,his family moved to Coventry in 1939.
He lived for a while in Lauderdale Avenue, Holbrooks, as a small child and remembers talk of the time when a bomb fell in the street outside his home during the Blitz in November 1940. Fortunately, no one was hurt.There was, however, a fairly large crater, which the locals found both fascinating and a nuisance!
The local Air-Raid Shelter was situated at the Holbrook Community Centre in Masser Road.This was well-used during the Blitz providing safety at a very dangerous time.
Dad remembers very clearly how the air-raid siren wailed loudly at any time to warn everyone of air attacks.
As a young child, my dad remembers how food was rationed, incuding sweets and fruit.He always laughs when he remembers that no-one saw a banana until the end of the war, and says, "When we were handed these, some of us tried to eat them with the skin on!"
One very dramatic moment sticks in my dad's mind, which was when a German parachutist died after being shot down in a field near Wheelwright Lane. According to witnesses, the wreckage was scattered over the field and the body found entangled in a tree.
So, like many people my dad has stories to tell about the war, which ended 60 years ago, but is still vivid in his memory.

22/04/05

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