大象传媒

My father started a diary in January 1941 in which he listed all air raids and their times.

A typical entry is - 4th February 1941 Alarm 6.51 to 12.28am. Bombs in Goddard Avenue and a few killed and injured.

He kept this diary until the night of 15th April 1941 when an alarm was on from 9.28pm until 4.58am. Eveything was silent and we thought the all clear would go and his entry said "Glenholme is no more" (Glenholme was the name of our house). Destroyed by a landmine in Mr Spinks' garden, no. 6 Highfield I am injured forehead and left eye".

At the time I was 16 years old and remember this silence followed by this unbelievable explosion which destroyed 12 houses. It was a landmine dropped by parachute. My mother and father were trapped in the air raid shelter by debris and I had to dig them out by hand and as my father could still walk, I decided to take them to the air raid wardens' post. One the way, the air raid warden's arrived and took over my mother and father and I went back to see what other help I could give.

I rescused my cycle from the debris of the garden shed and rode off to Wawne to fetch my great-uncle and I also alerted a farmer who brought his horse and rully so that we could save was a few sticks of furniture which fitted on the cart. This was stored in the vicarage which the kind permission of Chas Paley, the Vicar at that time of St James' church, Sutton.

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