大象传媒

I wasjust a boy when the war was on but I do have clear recollections of the time. One of the first was about my two uncles and their remarkable wartime coincidence. Uncle Tom was a senior officer on a merchant ship and his brother Sid was a Sergeant in the Northumberland Fusiliers. Their paths crossed at the time of the Dunkirk Evacuation when Tom's ship was one of many attempting to pick up as many of the British and Allied servicemen as possible. The story goes that as the crew were helping the exhausted troops aboard Tom leaned over to a soldier who was chest deep in water, stuck out his hand and said 'Don't I know you?' Yes.....it was his brother. Both survived the war.
When Hull was being bombed I was evacuated across the River Humber to Barrow on Humber from where you could see the bombing of the City with accompanying fires and explosions. My Aunts were with me at the time and I remember them saying they didn't believe anyone could have survived the terrible destruction the bombers had caused.I'll never forget the sight and sounds of Hull being bombed.
Other recollections of when I returned to the City were of the American troops staying in Wenlock Barracks on Anlaby Road. As a Catholic our family's usual place of worship , St. Wilfrids down the Boulevard, had been bombed so along with many of the Americans who were Catholics we attended Anchor House on Anlaby Road which had been consecrated as an emergency measure. The Americans were extremely generous,handing out sweets and cigarettes to children and adults. Italian POW'S housed down Priory Road were also much in evidence usually congregating near a bike shop on Selby St. By this time in the War they were completely unsupervised.
As a small boy in the War it was full of adventure, an experience I 'wouldn't have missed for the world'. The tragedy and sorrow associated with it meant nothing, in fact the heavy bombing with its destruction to people's lives and livelihoods was 'just the norm'.

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