大象传媒

My Mum, Pamela Amatt nee Legge, was born in a tide cottage in Ilchester Road, Yeovil. Her Father, my Grandfather, worked as a Gardener for the Pickett Witch House, at the time my Mum was born in 1930 the Bradford family lived in the 'big house' of Bradford Coal Merchants. My mum had 5 older sisters. When war came, my mum and Joan were at School, Daphne lived in Westfield Grove with her husband, Tom, who helped to resure people trapped in debris, Ethel was at Westlands, painting the wings of the planes and her husband, Reg who was an engineer at the factory, Mary moved to Exeter where her husband Reg was stationed in the Army, she worked in a Hat Shop there, and Dorothy worked for the CO-OP Grocery in the 'Triangle', Yeovil, whilst her husband, Ernie served in the army and later served in the middle east. They all remembered the bombings on Yeovil, and in Aunty Mary's case the blitz of Exeter.
Once after an air raid near Westlands, an unexploded bomb landed in a neighbours garden close to the new bungalow where Ethel and Reg lived in Westbourne Grove. They were told to evecuate, so Reg got the car and told Ethel 'go into the house and pick up the most valuable thing you can find', so she came out, shaken and shocked with the glass fruit bowl which was a wedding present! Not funny at the time but funny ever since. Another incident happend when Dorothy did her bit by being a fire warden above Jesty's Furniture shop in Middle Street, she was there one night with other staff from the CO-OP Store, they had to sleep on camp beds. This particular night the siren sounded sending the wardens onto the roof with their stirrup pumps, but they soon noticed, one of their member, a Mrs Old was missing, so they went back in calling for her, Mrs Old suddenly popped her head up from behind a camp bed and said 'cam mind me beeth' or in otherwords 'can't find my teeth! After that they alway asked Mrs Old, ' now do you remember where you put your teeth'.

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