大象传媒

It was another night of air raids and we were in our Anderson Shelter at the bottom of the garden.As usual it was damp and it smelled musty.There were only myself,Allan Greenwood and my mother Mary Greenwood.My father Albert was an Air Raid Warden and he was patrolling, looking out for any uncovered lights,which might guide the German Bombers.So it was, up to then ,like many nights which had gone before.This time there was to be a big difference.
Suddenly there was a bright orange light everywhere.This was the first time we had seen incendiary bombs.It was like a peculiar sort of daylight.It drew us out of the shelter and towards the street.There were a number of houses well alight and the auxiliary fire service was yet to arrive.
We were met by the sight of an elderly gentleman I only knew as Mr.Thirkell running up and down the pavement shouting water,water.
My mother,ever helpfull,ran into the house and got a bucket of water which she then put outside on the pavement.Mr.Thirkell ,now apparently in a complete panic,ran back down the pavement,failed to see the bucket and went headfirst over it,spilling the contents over himself and the pavement.This was probably just as well, since water and incendiary bombs probably wouldn,t have been a good idea.
After the all clear my father and I went to look for burned out incendiary bombs, as a souvenir found one and put it on the mantelpiece where it stayed until a visiting fireman saw it and placed it in a bucket of sand and removed it.I still remember the lecture my father got from him(apparently it wasn't completely burned out and I may not have been writing this story if it had remained where it was until it decided to become active again.
However my most vivid memory is still Mr.Thirkell diving over the bucket of water whil still shouting water,water.He did at least get his water though not quite as he
expected.

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