大象传媒

This story has been submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by a volunteer from 大象传媒 Radio Lincolnshire鈥檚 Action Desk on behalf of David Radford and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Radford fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was only three when the war ended and have few memories of it. However, I do remember my gas mask was a large space like item of equipment which lay in the cupboard for many years afterwards as an object of great curiosity to me. Parents would put the baby (me) into the mask/container and thus the baby thus protected against noxious gases, I would hopefully survive!

There was and Anderson shelter at the bottom of the garden to which the family fled during the terrible bombing raids which Cardiff suffered. My father recounted to me that as Cardiff docks were undergoing one of these, the family was rushing to the shelter but I had wanted to stay outside to see the fairy lights! Those lights were the incendiaries which rained down to light up the target for the bombers to complete their operation with greater success. You can imagine his desperation with a child鈥檚 innocence. Whole streets were destroyed in these raids.

My father was a trawler man who at the outbreak of war was assigned to civilian duties in Cardiff docks. He survived the war and continued to work there for the whole of his working life. Both he and his sister in law used to cycle to work and in order to follow black out restrictions, put brown paper inside their lamps to give a very faint aid to cycling to work in pitch black conditions (other than during air raids).

I am 63 now and cannot express my admiration towards them for their devotion and love. During this time of hardship, danger and rationing, I often received their portions of butter and fruit. We take for granted the ready supply of fresh food today but I remember my excitement when told the banana boat had come in and to go and queue at the local Co-Op for our share. For some years after the war we were presented at school with apples which had come from New Zealand. How delicious they were; we really looked forward to their arrival.

I shall never forget the sacrifice of the younger generation and their elder peers at that time. It is good that the recent End of War anniversaries provided an opportunity for today鈥檚 younger generation to appreciate their sacrifice for our world and all the opportunities it has provided for us all to have safe, secure and happy lives.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.