Air raids and curtains

This story has been added to the People’s War website by Jenny Burnett on behalf of Grace Port. Grace has given her permission and understands the sites terms and conditions.

When the sirens went we would go out the back garden gate to the air raid shelter called the “Abbey Ruins”. We went in the middle one, with our neighbours — about 10 people altogether. One man would stand outside to fire watch. This particular time he was swearing “down, down, bloody well stay down” We could hear it flapping, the sound of the parachute mine as it came near. It was close, eventually went down in the next road. When we went out of the shelter, he was lying on the ground. I said, “Mr Austin are you dead?” “No, I’m looking for my bloody glasses” They’d been blown off.

Another man with us went to his house to see if his Dad was alright. He would never come to the shelters — a lot of men didn’t. A little while later he came back “I’ll bloody murder him — he’s got a little candle and he’s standing up reading a book with no roof on the house!” His Dad was a real old grouch.

96 houses were taken. We had no roof, and I remember the curtains in shreds and the sound of it flapping. A sailor went by; he had blood on him and was going to the hospital. He said, “Never mind your curtains, Mother, you’ve got your life”

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