大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Chris Comer of Stockport Libraries on behalf of Joe Carley and has been added to the site with his daughter Miss M. Carley's permission. Miss Carley fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

Joe Carley served in the Home Guard, Heaton Moor (No 4 Platoon, A Company, 38th Cheshire Battalion) based at Heaton Moor Golf Club from 1940 to 1942.

He wrote diaries, describing in detail, his experiences serving in the Home Guard from the frustrations of acquiring suitable kit and weapons to the tedium of night duties and drill. But from time to time, life in the Home Guard at Heaton Moor became more exciting as the Manchester Blitz came too close for comfort.

The following stories are extracts from Joe's diaries:

"So the weeks passed into months, until we came to the night of December 22nd - Manchester Blitz Night..... Early on that particular evening, I happened to visit relatives in Slade Lane from whence I intended going direct to the Golfhouse for my all night duty. However the sirens sounded at 6.30pm., followed by very heavy anti-aircraft fire and when the time came for me to leave the guns were thundering incessantly. I went to the door and looked out into deserted Slade Lane, lit up by momentary flashes, noticing here and there the sudden gleam of sparks struck from the roadway by falling shrapnel, while overhead sounded the heavy drone of 'planes and the occasional crump of heavy bombs some distance away."

"We had not been issued with steel helmets and in the circumstances I considered it rather foolhardy to venture a walk of over two miles to headquarters unless absolutely necessary. I waited a while but as there was no abatement of the racket, I phoned Mr Rose, told him of my predicament, and promised to make the journey as soon as I could."

"However about 10pm I decided to set off, raid or no raid... The sky was aglow with the reflection of fires in the city and Old Trafford directions, but I do not think (although I may be wrong) that there was much damage caused up to that time. En route I got into conversation with a pedestrian, who told me that the damage had been done in the Gorton area......at one point (on Burnage Lane) a very low-flying plane seemed to come along at almost tree top level, so I swerved into a public air-raid shelter which I happened to be passing at the time, a fairly long one and, without pausing within, came out at the other end to resume my trip against the advice of the air-raid warden on duty."

"As I arrived at the small gate adjoining the golfhouse, I met Mr Rose, who asked what the conditions were like nearer town. "It's nothing much" I replied "a few small fires, but plenty of gunfire". This was my honest opinion at the time. Up to 11pm I did not think it was an exceptionally heavy raid and considered that the excessive noise was almost solely due to the city's defenders. I must have been wrong, probably quite a number of high explosives had been dropped in various parts of Manchester, but in comparison, they would not have affected me as did the fewer, but much nearer, bombs on other raid nights."

"However on this particular night, after a short stay at headquarters (the Golf Club) where the lads were having a bit of a party, I again had to join Alcock and Spafford who were on duty at 33 post. Here, from our isolated position on the hill-top, we had a first class view of the Manchester Blitz. The city was spread out before our gaze and it was an awe-inspiring spectacle. Fires could be seen in various districts, their smoke silhoettted against the glow of the flames, while from certain specified points, sudden, sharp, slim flashes of light denoted the presence of AA guns in action, while on occasions a vivid, white, lightening-like flash told of the impact of another bomb. But one of the chief recollections to me was the beauty of the sky. It is terrible to think that its beauty should have been caused by the destruction wrought by the death-dealing, destroying missiles of the German 'planes, but nevertheless, the effect in the sky was truly magnificent at one period. The pillars of swiftly changing, swirling smoke and the dull red glow of the conflagration on the clouds was an unforgettable sight."

"After a time, my two companions decided to take refuge in the Anderson shelter nearby, but as I felt somewhat tired, possible due to traipsing some miles that night I decided to go to bed (in the hut) but though I tried to sleep it was impossible with the racket that was going on outside and which seemed to be getting louder and nearer while the hut rocked and rattled with the reverberations on a couple of occasions. Presently I heard knocking on the side of the hut and rolled out of bed to investigate. It proved to be the sound of small stones and lumps of clay, thrown from the shelter by Alcock and Spafford in order to attract my attention and suggest that I join them in the shelter, as the bombs now seemed to be dropping nearer our area."

"I was not unduly worried, but nevertheless I dropped down beside them and had hardly done so when a couple of hundred yards away, directly in front of the shelter, a sudden gushing eruption indicated a heavy bomb explosion which, we learnt later, had completely demolished a couple of houses and killed a woman."

"Shortly afterwards, as we watched from the comparative safety of the Anderson shelter, I felt as if I had received a sudden sharp smack on the chin, while Danny recoiled back against the side of the shelter. Our reactions were due to the blast from an explosion caused by a huge land-mine which had burst some distance away, near Didsbury Road in fact."

"These two cases were the only actual ones we experienced of bombs in the immediate vicinity that night, but the drone of enemy aircraft filled the red-hued sky continuously."

"So the long night passed and somewhere in the region of 6.30am the welcome "All Clear" sounded and wearily we climbed on the roof of the hutt to look out over the city. Miraculously it seemded many of the fires were quickly brought under control but in a North-Westerly direction, one big conflagration seemed to be gaining in intensity - the flames spreading right and left"

"The next day, Monday, showed traces of the havoc caused by the ordeal, but on that night a further heavy raid, though not of such long duration, did even more material damage, especially to the city centre, through the ravages of fire which spread with great rapidity and was more serious, covering as it did the commercial, business and shopping centres of the city."

"Anti-looting patrols of the Home Guards were called out to supplement the police and regular troops. I was detailed on two occasions, first on Friday December 27th when ordered to report to our platoon headquarters and secondly on Sunday December 29th when instructed to attend at Company H.Q. at Heaton Moor Road."

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