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The air raid shelters were very cold and very damp.
A lady who lived a few doors up from us had bronchitis. Whilst she was in the shelter this turned in pneumonia and she died.
When it was the night of the worst raids in Leicester my dad wouldn't let us go into the shelter.
So, when there was the bombing my father put us under the cupboard in the living room. There was me, my mother and brother John.
Dad went out firewatching.
When he came in to see us he put just his head under.
I said "Daddy, you're not underneath".
He said he was alright as long as his head was under.
I asked him afterwards what he would have done with his head without his body.

In summer we all shot down the air raid shelter. It was warm because we were all in our vests. We went to bed. When we got up in the morning, men were working on the railway.
My mum put dad's shirt on — she was on view to all the men working.

This story was submitted to the People's War Website by Lisa Reeves of CSV Action Desk Leicester on behalf of Helen Pascha and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

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