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Memories of the Blitz of 1940 - November 24th

It was about 6 pm I had heard the noise of aeroplanes and opened the front door
I was astonished to see so many flare lights hanging like chandeliers in the sky.
Instead of being dark as it would normally be it was like day. I called to my parents to see this sight, I had not realised what terrible events would come.

The air raid siren went and soon the planes came dropping bombs. The droning of the engines, the whine of the bombs as they dropped, and the explosions. So frightening.
My mother and I just ran to Petherton Road Infants School, where there was a brick shelter, dropping to the ground a couple of times when we heard the whine of the bomb. Inside the shelter we sat on wooden seats in the dark for hours and hours just listening to all the mayhem and hoping a bomb would miss our shelter.

When eventually the ‘all clear’ went, in the early hours of the next day, we went outside and looked into the distance. Bristol was burning. It was an incredible frightening sight, this red glow over Bristol.

In Petherton Road the paint factory near the school was alight from incendiary bombs, and on the other side, was the Knowle Stadium, and the greyhound kennels were on fire.

My dad was on duty as a firewatcher and with other men let the dogs escape. He took a couple into our house in Dennor Park for shelter. A few incendiaries had fallen in this road, but were put out by my dad and the men on duty.

During another blitz, my dad was again fire watching. There was a lull and so he thought he would sit on the front door step eating cold rice pudding and enjoying it.

The next thing he knew was blood pouring down his face. He touched it gingerly, but to his amazement it was the rice pudding all on his face and hair. After the shock he could see the funny side of it.

I was 14 years of age at the time and these events are still as vivid now as then.

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