- Contributed byÌý
- actiondesksheffield
- People in story:Ìý
- Albert Hewit (who owned the shelter), winnie hewit (his wife), Gerald hewit (their son), Jack, Brian and Ethel Liversidge (neighbours)
- Location of story:Ìý
- Shiregreen estate, Sheffield
- Background to story:Ìý
- Civilian
- Article ID:Ìý
- A4982484
- Contributed on:Ìý
- 11 August 2005
This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Bill Ross of the ‘Action Desk — Sheffield’ Team on behalf of Alber Hewit, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.
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One night in 1940 found us in next door's shelter. We didn’t have one (we didn’t have one because my father had a staff job and was told he could afford to buy an Anderson shelter, which he refused to do, so we went in next door's). It was the Blitz and we could see the fires in the distance. The bombers had followed the railway and were aiming for a well known foundry, but their aim was off and the incendiaries landed in the fields, it was quite a sight.
After a while, a bomb landed next door but one, and the air raid warden fetched us out of the shelter and told us to go across the road to the school shelters, which were underground. I was amazed how many bricks and roof tiles we had to climb over to get out. My pal was with me and we thought the aeroplanes were shooting at us, which they weren’t, but at 7 years old, we had vivid imaginations. We ran like two rabbits into the school shelters. Of course, we left our parents and had to spend over one hour looking for them, eventually we found them.
The bomb had fallen on a house and broken into two pieces. One piece rolled across the bedroom floor, smashing through the wall of the house and stuck with its nose in the centre of the front lawn. The other piece was left in the bedroom. It was a time bomb but thank God it didn’t explode.
It was said later that it had been sabotaged and I’ve often thanked God for the brave people who sabotaged it, I owe them a lot. We were eventually evacuated to the local pub, which pleased my Dad (he liked his pint). The tenant of the house was a park keeper; his lawn was immaculate, and after they took the bomb away he made a flowerbed where the bomb went in. So he was pleased about that. I think five time bombs were dropped on our estate and none went off.
Pr-BR
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