大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the site by the 大象传媒's Peoples War Team in the East Midlands with Derrick Arnold's permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

I was nearly 3 years old when WW2 started in 1939. I was living with my parents and older sister in a house attached to a grocery shop managed by my father in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.Whenever the air-raid siren sounded we all went down into the cellar which was our shelter.My father had set it out with makeshift beds and places to sit whilst we waited for the All Clear.

My most vivid memory was the sight I had, through the cellar grating, of the enemy bombers passing through searchlight beams lighting up the night sky, and the noise of gunfire from nearby anti-aircraft guns. The bombers were probably trying to find the Rolls-Royce factories in nearby Derby, where the engines for the renowned Spitfire were made.

Whenever we needed to take shelter my sister, who was 6 years older than me, had the task of carrying the First-Aid box into the shelter. One night my father noticed that she was missing and left the shelter to look for her. He hunted high and low and finally found her fast asleep on the toilet clutching the box in her arms!!

The regular trips to the cellar came to an end when we moved to Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

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