The Second World War started in September 1939 when I was ten. When the bombs started to fall on Liverpool, there was a mass evacuation of children to the country, but I refused to go. Poor Nanny was berated by my Headmaster for not letting me go and told she was being selfish. She pointed out that there was no way she could force me to go, so for about six glorious months I had Bootle almost to myself!
The school had its windows shattered by a land-mine, which cleared a whole street nearby of it's houses. In our back garden we had an Anderson Shelter, which was a corrugated metal shelter set about two feet into the ground. It was supposed to go deeper, but when workmen were digging the hole to put it in they hit a layer of clay, which promptly filled with water.
Only when the raids were really bad would we put on our Wellingtons and go and sit in this `covered pond' with the frogs! We peeping out occasionally to see if our house was still standing.
The school had its windows shattered by a land-mine, which cleared a whole street nearby of it's houses. In our back garden we had an Anderson Shelter, which was a corrugated metal shelter set about two feet into the ground. It was supposed to go deeper, but when workmen were digging the hole to put it in they hit a layer of clay, which promptly filled with water.
Only when the raids were really bad would we put on our Wellingtons and go and sit in this `covered pond' with the frogs! We peeping out occasionally to see if our house was still standing.
After a while the children began to drift back home, the school was repaired and re-opened, so, much to my disgust, I had to go back to school. I had rather enjoyed my freedom, needless to say.
The one and only time I played truant from school with a friend, was memorable because there was a dog-fight between a German and a British aeroplane. It scared the daylights out of us!
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