大象传媒

I was born in Chesterfield in 1936 and started school in 1940 at Brampton Infants and Junior Mixed School in that town. We were all issued with gas masks in a cardboard box which had to be carried at all times to school. We also wore an engraved bracelet which carried peronal details in case we were killed during an air-raid in which case we could be easily identified! My first experience of actual hostilites came during 1941 when the Sheffield blitz was raging. Sheffield was only 12 miles away and the noise of the exploding bombs was really quite loud and the glow of the fires caused by the bombs was clearly visible to the north. We spent several nights in the Anderson shelter at the bottom of the garden and as we walked to it we could see the aircraft passing overhead at a great height. We had been taught to respond to the air raid sirens at school and in fact we often had practice calls when we had to troop to the communal shelters in the grounds. We eventually were able to travel to Sheffield and see the devastation caused by the Luftwaffe but the trams were still running and we were able to travel freely. Chesterfield only received 2 bombs which were aimed at the Tube Works about a mile from our house. This was a factory which made bomb casings but the intended target was missed by a couple of hundred yards and unfortunately some housing was demolished. Later in the war we had the pleasure of seeing masses of our own bombers flying over the town from the north west, presumably from Burtonwood. People used to count them on the way out and compare that figure with the ones returning several hours later. We also saw German POWs being moved about in TCVs and we often waved to them and always got a response. I used to read the papers avidly and followed the progress of the war in the 'Daily Herald', 'Daily Sketch' and the 'Daily Mirror'. The 'Picture Post' was superb because of its photographic news coverage. We had a battery driven radio which was good for news and also for its Forces programmes such as ITMA with Tommy Handley and the voice of Vera Lynn etc. When I was 7 yrs old I joined the choir of St Mark's church which was across from the school. Every Sunday on the run-up to D Day we sang a Morning Service for the troops who marched from the local Drill Hall about half a mile away. At the end of the war the choir was treated to a slap-up dinner in the Drill Hall at the invitation of the CO who thanked us for helping the soldiers to prepare for hard days ahead. We were then taken by Army lorry to the Regal Cinema to see a film. We were on war rations at that time, which were adequate but the Army provided some real grub. These were happy and exciting times for a young lad and I remember them fondly. In 1952 I joined the Army as an Apprentice Tradesman and served for 10 years, 7 0f them in Germany!

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