大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from newcastlecsv on behalf of Richard Hindmoor [name of contributor/author] and has been added to the site with his permission. Richard Hindmoor fully understands the site's terms and conditions".

My first recollection of the war was when I was 7 years in infant school in Seghill, we were issued with gas masks in a square box to be carried too and fro from school, the classroom windows were criss-crossed with sticky brown paper, school hours was cut to 9 am 12 noon alternate weeks from 12 noon till 3 pm.

The village was preparing for the onset of war, my Dad was in the home guard which he did after his duty in Seghill Pit, the home guard drilled and trained the area, this was exciting for me and my friends, shelters were erected in the square I recall lining the shelters with pine wood, and emergency beds, and tinned food and dried milk, also the fire brigade shed was used to practice fire fighting in the event of bombs being dropped on the village this again was great excitement to us.

I recall in 1939 or 1940 when the village was bombed with incendiary bombs which dropped on 鈥渟pice cake row鈥� 鈥� other locations Blaketown and a land mine on the signal box at Seghill station and in the Seghill welfare. The sky was full of barrage balloons we could see german planes firing at them in the sky, I remember the smell of fire and rubber was very strong. My Mother and Father were having supper at 7 pm when the back door was blasted open, the sneck bounced off the walls and the sirens were going to get us in the shelters which was 20 yards away, the bullets were bouncing off the houses from the German aircraft.

That was frightening for us all but we all survived.

The sky was ablaze with burnt barrage balloons and flak from guns at Benton, a German aeroplane was hit and came down in the area.

The explosions that night were horrendous, the railway station was hit by a land mine also the welfare playground and homes on fire, seven people were killed that night, the next day the devastation was a nightmare people were homeless, emergency services everywhere.

The invasions had been directed at Newcastle shipyards, Vickers Armstrong etc.

The bravery of the community in Seghill was a life saver although I did not realise it at the time.

I remember the victory party in 1945.

I am 73 years of age, but can still remember vividly the war.

THE END

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