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This story was submitted to the People's War site by staff at Warrington Library on behalf of W.J. Lawless and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

During the war Warrington was very fortunate because there were not many air aids. My father, along with my grandfather, had assembled an Anderson air aid shelter in the back garden. When the siren sounded to say there was a possible attack by German Aircraft. We would then go into the shelter and stay there till the all clear sounded.

It was on once such a night that two land mines were dropped in Latchford. One dropped just yards from the Power Station. The other landed in the Sewage works! The damage caused was immense. All houses in the vicinity had some damage — mainly broken windows, even though all windows had brown sticky tape on to stop them splintering. This night we had left the shelter to have a cup of tea and then to bed when all hell let loose. Everybody tried to get under the table.

The next thing that happened the room was covered in thick black soot. Everyone was shaking with fear. It was a night I will never forget, it took my mother weeks before the house was clean again.

My other memory of a bomb dropping, was one Saturday afternoon. I was playing in one of my friends garden when we spotted a small aeroplane flying above it had what we thought was English markings on the wings. It then disappeared into the distance. All of a sudden there was a large explosion. It was days later we were informed that the bomb had landed on Thames Board sports field.

At the time there was a fete taking place. It was sometime before any information was released. It was all kept hush hush. Then we were told that men women and children had been killed and many more had been injured.

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