大象传媒

In 1940, my parents moved to live in Hale and I went to Stamford Park Primary School. Although Hale is 8 miles south of Manchester and regarded as relatively safe it still got the odd raid, one of which flattened my Dad's business.
In the local public Park they built large shelters and whenever the sirens sounded we trouped down, en masse, and carried on with our education inside the supposed safety of these shelters. Due to the lack of light (no power was ever laid on to them) lessons were mainly spelling bees or reciting 'times' tables. I had my eighth birthday in 1940 and as a result I learned my eight times table perfectly. When one day there was a boy's versus girl's competition my being able to reel this off gained the lads maximum points and we beat the girls hands down!
The shelters were there for several years after the war and used for romantic assignations until the council flattened them.

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