Mrs Green in the Air Raid shelter

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Pat’s daughter (Rachel Irven), a volunteer from Three Counties Action, on behalf of Pat, and has been added to the site with her permission. Pat fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Mrs Green and Charlie lived next door to us in Hamble and we had adjoining air-raid shelters down the garden. When the Works danger sirens went off we knew that enemy aircraft or flying bombs were near, so down the shelter we went..
Because Mr Green often worked night shifts, Mrs Green often came into the shelter with Vi, Andrew and myself. Very rarely did anything occur — but one night it did..
There we were ’down the shelter’ in the pitch dark, and Charlie Green was, as ever, ‘on nights’, but due home soon. One or two flying bombs had landed with a bang in the Solent, fortunately some distance away.
Then we heard a motor bike coming up the road, “That’ll be my Charlie”, said Mrs Green.
Suddenly there was a loud bang and the motor bike had obviously crashed into something.
“Oh Charlie, - my Charlie, are you alright? I’m coming dear”,
“Don’t bother”, said an aggrieved deep voice. “I’m not your Charlie, anyway, -I’ve only fallen off me ruddy motor bike into the ditch.

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