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I was nearly 9 years old when the war started.
I remember when it was thick with snow my mum was upstairs in bed with the baby.
I fell down the stairs and cracked my head. I was in hospital for eight weeks — six in the Leicester Royal Infirmary and two in Roecliffe Manor.
The wards were all blacked out and we stayed there during the raids.

When I was about eleven years old me and my twin sister went to the shop and when we came back the sky was red.
A plane had crashed at Narlestone and they were all killed.

My 19 year old brother went to war.
At 19 and a half he was flying over Germany.
He gave orders for the men to bale out- he was the one who got shot.
This was in 1943.

A telegram arrived saying he was missing and then shortly afterwards another arrived to say he was dead.

When the war was over we had a street party.

This story was submitted to the People's War Website by Lisa Reeves of CSV Action Desk Leicester on behalf of Joan Moore and has been added with her permission.
The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions

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