"People were screaming and shaking, 'cause we never knew where the bombs would hit next. It could be your house if you were unlucky."
Sylvia likes to get involved with the local community and enjoys life as a housewife.
When I was 5 years of age, the second World War started. At the time I lived with my brother and parents in Flint St. in Cobridge.
It was a frightening time. Air raid shelters were built all over the place, even in our local park! As we sat in the shelter during air raids we could hear the noise of the bombs exploding and people crying. People were screaming and shaking, 'cause we never knew where the bombs would hit next. It could be your house if you were unlucky. Factories like Doulton's and the steel works, Shelton Bar made this area a target. One particular night we had to go to the air raid shelter, but when we got there we found it was full and there was no way we could get in. Panic. If we couldn't find another shelter, we'd have to hide under the stairs at home. It looked like we were in for a pretty terrifying night. My mum and dad decided to try the pub, The White Swan. Luckily they did have room in their cellar. Even though I was so young, I still remember feeling really really scared by this point. We went down the stone steps into the cellar and when we got there, I couldn't believe what I saw. All eyes in the cellar were turned towards a man, who was standing with his back to them. He was painting! Like Rolf Harris just picks up a brush and does it, that's what he was doing, painting a beautiful, colourful mural the length of the cellar wall. I thought it was marvellous! We were down there ever such a long while, but it took my mind off the war completely until we heard the all-clear and went back home.
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