大象传媒

Recollections of Mrs Brenda Hooley

My maiden name - Brenda Hudson

My family lived on Bradford Road, Bradford, Manchester when war broke out. I was 18 months old and my sister was 2 years 6 months. My father who was born in 1907 did not go to war because of an injury sustained to his foot as a teenager.

My mother was born in 1915 - her maiden name was Lucy Cuddiford - she must have had a very difficult time bringing up such a young family during the war. Our brother was born 6 weeks prematurely in October 1940 just prior to the Manchester blitz. I remember my father taking time off work to look after my sister and myself.

When my brother was only 4 weeks old my sister and I both had whooping cough and inevitably he also became ill two weeks later, right in the middle of the blitz. The doctor could not send him to a hospital as they were all full with casualties from the bombing. He did not hold out much hope for my brother's survival with him having been premature but my mother nursed him through and he did survive. During the worst of the air raids my father had been sent to Liverpool to help with the clearing up after the terrible battering they had received.

Just prior to Christmas 1940 the air raids were particulary bad and it was also mentioned that most of the fire engines and crews from Manchester and surrounding areas had gone to Liverpool to help out thus leaving Manchester in a very vulnerable position. My father's sister lived in Stockport and said that as she looked up Wellington Road towards Manchester all she could see was a big red glow - it was as though the whole of Manchester was alight. Ten months later she arranged for our family to move to Stockport away from the bombing and I remember travelling with my father - my mother, sister and brother coming later - I was very shy and frightened when left with relatives. I do not know how I would have gone on if I had been evacuated like many other young children in Manchester.

After my brother had recovered my mother remembers a time when the sirens had gone and she was on her own with him, my sister and myself and as it was quite early in the evening we were not in bed. I had been playing with two baby food tins into which I had placed my feet - she could not get the tins off and had to drag me to the shelter making a terrible din with the tins on my feet until a neighbour came to our rescue and carried me the rest of the way.

After moving to Edgeley, Stockport, though it was nothing like as bad as in Manchester, we did have to travel to the shelters in Cheadle Heath - I can still remember the dank wet smell and the water running down the red walls of the caves. I hope to visit the caves some time soon as they are open to the public.

Other frightening memories concern the blackout -I hated the dark and one morning I woke up with the bed covers over my face - I thought I was suffocating as when I uncovered my face it was still pitch black and I panicked thinking my face was still covered. I remember gas masks and my sister remembers the one into which my brother had to be placed - she hated the thought of him being put inside. She has been claustrophobic all her life and I am sure that is the reason.

Brenda Hooley