大象传媒

"Mum, Mum, Ive got another nose bleed !"
This was a regular event for me at this time, a result of all the hand stands I did - much against my dear mums wishes.!.
Pushing the front door open of our two up, two down terraced house, I caught the cloth my mum pushed into my hands to me to help stem the flow of blood.At the same time she put her finger to her lips - "quiet."
The wireless was on and from the look on my mums face the news coming from it was serious.
I stood there, the cloth pushed against my still bleeding nose, everything was very hushed as the voice from the wireless finished "and so we are now at war!".
My mum put her hand quickly to her chest and said "oh god."
"Whats up mum I asked?"
"Its war Luv, you wont understand."
I could understand that she was close to tears.
I ran out of the house, sensing now the seriousness of the moment and made my way to my friend Gwens house nearby.
"Its war Gwen, Mum says so!"
Somehow the mood of that bright warm summers day had changed but just as quickly, as eight year olds do, we resumed our play and forgot about the news.
This day was my first introduction to World War 2.
At that time my family (the Bells), Mum, Dad, Brother Ken, sister Janet and myself were living in the east end of Sheffield, close to the Steel making, other heavy industry and the railway lines in that part of Sheffield. English Steel, just off Brightside Lane would be an important part of the war effort, the railway lines were crucial for bringing in the coal needed to feed the furnaces and taking away the armour and other critical components Sheffield made.
My Dad was a furnace man at English Steel and the whole area would be very vulnerable in the years ahead to air raids.
I remember one day early in the war there was great excitement and all the local children ran towards the spare ground near Fell Place.This had been made into an RAF site , built to house Barrage Balloons, intended to try and stop German planes from flying low over their intended targets.We stood in amazement at the sight of these new balloons being launched,seemingly into the clouds.They were made of strong silver fabric and looked themselves rather like clouds.
The blue uniformed RAF men were struggling this way and that as the steel cables held the balloon.
Then up up this silver monster went, all the children cheered loudly, clapping our hands for a long time after.
But then we went quiet,it began to dawn on us that we must be in danger living so close to the steel works, especially if someone had decided these balloons had to be placed here.
And we were - Sheffield was producing huge quantities of steel for all types of equipment in the war, Germany would make it a priority to stop it.!

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