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This story is taken from an interview with Ralph Hunter at the Royal British legion, Bangor, and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interviewer was Anita Cochrane, transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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I was 15 at the time the war started. 6 months after that I went into Harland & Wolff [shipyards] as a message boy, before I could serve my time. I served my time in Harland & Wolff [shipyards] engine works as a fitter. And the night of the Easter Tuesday I was at home — we were on holiday. 22 Hazeldine gardens. That was the only place in Bangor that was bombed. The bombs fell at the bottom of the avenue, Because the tonic cinema was there, and the golf club, and they thought it was an aerodrome. There was 2 bungalows demolished.

The next night we were back at work on the night shift, and I was on the Furious, and they battened down all the hatches, and you couldn’t get out. In the morning … The fire-watchers, they had tin huts all over the place for the fire-watchers, and some of the men were roasted to death in those. The place was flattened. It was only a lot of old wooden sheds, and after the blitz it was all brick buildings.

[how many people were killed?]
It must have been hundreds. There was no planes or nothing else to combat it. They never thought they would come this far. It was only the 2 nights. It was only the Easter Monday and the night after it. That was all. I can remember it. Our scenes was down in the house and the plaster was off. I’m living in that house, back in it. I was out of it for a while. Best spot in Bangor. 5 minutes takes you to Ballyhome, 5 minutes takes you into the town.

[it was the only part of Bangor to be bombed?]
It and there was a bomb dropped up in the bay. That was all. Where the royal hotel was, that was where the Naval HQ for the convoys. And they had Big barrage balloons there after that.

I’ll tell you something else. They’re having this celebration at the North pier. It wasn’t the North pier at all, because the old North pier was done, it was falling to bits. It was the Centre pier. But they’re putting the plaque up there. So that proves it about history.

[the area that got bombed …]
It’s a residential area. That’s the best spot in Bangor. It’s just over at the back of the park
I can remember [that night], and the night after it.

All our windows was broke. My mother and her sister who lived in Moira, they all went down to her other sister in Crossgarb. My father and brother and I stayed there. I wouldn’t go!

I had to go to work the next day. We got sent home that day because the power — there was no power or electricity or nothing.
They had to go down to the east yard for that was the only place with an office for to sign you were there.
After that it was the worst of the lot. They had that 6-2 and 2-10. It was double summertime, and you were up at 4am to get the 5am train to get in for 6am. Whenever I was on the 6-2 I done very little sleep to get out at night. Whenever I was on the 2-10 I was sleeping all the time.

I know the railway accident. I know a pal of mine was killed in it. It was the train, the Bangor — the Holywood train ran into the back of it in the blackout at Dee Street. That was the whole County Down railway back then!

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