大象传媒

My real name is Yvonne Bland and I was born in 1937. You may think that as a three year old I would not remember the blitz, but its very clear. As a small child you are aware of sounds,smells, and other peoples fear. The intermittent sound of the sirens will stay with me for ever. The rough drone of the aeroplanes, my brother saying "It's a Gerry", the boom-boom, boom-boom of the ack-ack,the dull crump of the bombs, and the final All Clear as the engine noise died away. I was also aware of my mother's terror, not just for us,my brother and me, but for my dad who was out in the streets somewhere fire-watching. It always seemed ages until he finally returned, as he used to see all the lady fire-watchers to their doors, being the chief fire-watcher himself. My mum always heard a sound outside the Anderson shelter, and always shouted "Is that you Jack". It always was of course. I remember never being alowed to look out at the sky, and one particular night when they both went outside to throw the ashes from the dustbin onto various incendiary fires on our garden. I remember the earth shaking, and going into the house later to find soot everywhere. That of course is my story of the raids but I also have others about everyday living too.