Memories of the war

10th July 2005

I was 6 and our mother and the younger children were starting our first holiday in Cleethorpes. Mam came and announced, “We are going back home.” I said “But why? We have only just come.” “Mr Hitler is coming to bomb us!” , so, back we went on the train to New Holland, then on the big steamer to the pier in Hull and home to Spring Street, just behind the railway station.

School was normal, St Patrick’s in Mill Street, next to Hammonds. A big girl took me to school as mum had the younger children to look after.

We had many air raids, sheltering in the alcove under the stairs. A neighbour came in with us; Dad was away in the Home Guard looking after other people. A bomb dropped through our pantry roof into an open tin of nuts! Mam rushed out, got a sandbag and threw it on the bomb. Thank God it never exploded.

We were excited. Three of us; Vincent and Maureen, much younger than me, and I went to the Paragon Station — we were being evacuated. Our names were written on labels attached to our coats. It was a real adventure. We went to Birdsall, in the country somewhere near Malton.

The lady of the cottage didn’t relish having three evacuees. I remember standing in a field staring up into a tree where there was a white owl looking down at us. My dad turned up in a taxi he had hired to look for us. He said; “Do you want to stay here or come back home?” “Oh home dad, please” we said, jumping up and down. So, it was back to Hull we went.

Our back door was blown off its hinges, but on to school we went. I was astounded for Hammonds, the big stop, had received a direct hit and was in smithereens. It was so strange!

We spent many school holidays in the dark shelter saying our prayers. We really knew how to pray in those days!

We were evacuated a second time, this time it was to York, with mum; but two of the children picked the lady’s daffodils. We had never seen daffodils growing in a garden. My brother had his toy car taken from him for playing on the carpet. He remonstrated, the lady objected and so it was back home to Hull we were all sent.

My older brother joined the Merchant Navy as a radio operator. We weren’t told at the time, but he was capsized twice when he was 16.

I was 12 when the war came to an end and had my first post-war holiday with the Girl Guides, all jammed into the back of a lorry bound for our camp at Holme in Spalding Moor.

Happy days!
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Added by: Alan Brigham - www.hullwebs.co.uk

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