大象传媒

I was only 8 years old but I can remember the 10th of April 1941. It was the Easter Holiday. My sister Jean (10), Brother Sid (13) and I were all in bed. Our mom was downstairs waiting for our eldest brother, Bert to come home; he had gone out with his mates to a dance so I鈥檝e been told.

My dad was working a night shift at McKetchnies, so I used to sleep in my mom鈥檚 bed with her whenever he was in this shift. The next thing I can remember was that I was still in bed but hanging out the window. My brother Sid was shouting at me to try to reach his hand, which I did 鈥� he then pulled me to the end of the bed and I had to jump over the small landing at the top of the stairs which were no longer there because of the bombing. The three of us all got into bed; my mother had been hurt and had been put in the front garden, she was asking us to speak to her one at a time, to see if we were all right.

Suddenly a man appeared at the top of the ladder, it was one of the air-raid wardens. I don鈥檛 know his name. He asked Sid to go to him very slowly as the house wasn鈥檛 very safe any longer, then Jean, who was screaming, then me last.

There were policemen at the bottom of the ladder waiting to carry us one at a time to Mrs. Raybone鈥檚 cellar, which was at the top of our yard. There were quite a lot of people down there, on benches and bunk beds. I remember sitting on a lady鈥檚 lap but I can鈥檛 remember who she was. We were down there for some time when our dad came to see us, he said we were going to Aunt Floss鈥� house which was down the Dudley road, she was my mom鈥檚 sister.

When we came up from the cellar we went down the yard to see if we could find any clothes to put on, but everything was blown everywhere, even the piano was in the front garden and half the house gone. My dad told us our mom was in hospital and the Bert had been taken to Shrewsbury. Apparently he went with the air raid wardens as he was in the Home Guard, himself, they all went to help dig out some of the debris and he got a lot of shrapnel in his hands. We all arrived at our Aunt Floss鈥檚 house but she wasn鈥檛 in it. We sat on the step waiting for her to come home. Mrs. Nickles, one of our aunt鈥檚 neighbours, came down with her daughter鈥檚 coats to put around us because we only had our pyjamas on. My aunt came home about a half hour later when she let us in; she began to cry and told us that our mom had died.

I remember then shortly after, one of the ladies who used to live in our yard, Mrs. Snellings, who had moved to Kingstanding, had heard about the bombing and came into the house to see if she could do anything to help. My aunt said yes, so I being the youngest went home with her but before that, Mrs. Snelling and my dad took Jean, Sid and me down to the church hall on Spring Hill, where people had taken clothes for those who had been bombed the night before. They fitted us out with coats, trousers, dresses, shoes or pumps. I stayed with Mrs. Snelling and her husband and daughter for two days. I remember while staying with her, she knitted two Pixy Hoods, 鈥渉ats鈥� for me.

When I came back to my aunt鈥檚 house, our mother鈥檚 eldest sister, Louie, was there with her daughter Pauline. Her husband, Tom, was in the Army and they were living in army barracks at Tavistock, but Louie stayed in Birmingham and the council gave her a house in Molliett Street, off the Dudley road, so she could have us living with her, but my brother Sid, lived with Aunt Floss, as she a son of her own called Alan, and they could share a room. Because Louie had only got one bed we had to sleep two at the top and two at the bottom. So we were split up, like many other families in similar circumstances.

The Easter Holiday had finished.

Our brother Sid stayed on at Barford Road School while Jean and I moved to City Road School. One morning after assembly Miss Bright, our Head Mistress, asked Jean and I to stay behind, we both went to her room where she requested that we both went to Barford School the following morning. Next morning we arrived at Barford Road and met our brother Sid who was already there. We were invited into the head mistress鈥� room, where she presented us with a large square biscuit tin full of sweets given by the children to be shared between us. How kind those children were.

My brother Bert and our dad managed to get a room over a shop in Ickneild Port Road, but our dad died 10 months later, so Bert managed to get a single bed and he came to live with us in Molliett Street, he had the downstairs front room. When Sid was old enough he joined the army. Jean moved to South Yardley with my Aunt Floss. Louie and Tom were very good indeed, they really looked after us and loved us all, I was very happy with them and Pauline. I lived with them until I got married at the age of 21. I really don鈥檛 know what I would have done without them. I loved them all very much.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Anastasia Travers a volunteer with WM CSV Actiondesk on behalf of Lilian Thacker and has been added to the site with her permission. Lilian Thacker fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

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