Bootle Times News

At the beginning of May 1941 my mother asked my father if we could go and live with family in North Wales, as she was terrified of the bombs. We left 47 Linacre Lane and went to live with family in Caernarvonshire; the "We" consisted of my grandfather, me, my parents, and one of my father's sisters.

A day or two later my father returned to Bootle, and he remembered as he turned from Stanley Road into Linacre Lane seeing our home, shop and dairy badly damaged - his words were "My home is gone". Just as well my father had agreed to take us all away, otherwise we may all have died that fateful night.

We stayed in Caernarvonshire for several years, my father got a job driving trucks for a the Ministry of Defence, Llanberis. We eventually came back to live in a prefab in Trinity Road - No.48. I can't remember how long we were there....... some time later we moved to 288 Knowsley Road, grandfather too.

Hi Glenys my aunt and uncle live in a pre;fab Trinity Road opposite is it the Orange Lodge church there names George Susie McCouid
i wonder did youn know them.George

This thread is on a roll and plenty of memories of hard times and a thing we never recognised in those days ....poverty.

I can never, ever, remember anyone complaining.
My...how times have changed. If we slept in a church, a school corridor, a brick shelter, or even a freezer wagon we never complained and were grateful our family had survived, even if it might be for one more night

I lived on Miranda Road between Rosalind and Olivia. One night, during an air raid with bombs dropping all around, we heard a man in the road shouting up at the the Luftwaffe planes overhead. He was waving his fist and shouting for them to come down and fight like men. Mum said that some poor wife would be really embarrassed but later we found out it was our Dad coming home after a night working on the docks.

Ernie we areb on aroll you said how we survived i often wonder yes we slept in the pews Magull Parish church, travel on the back of
Whitbread Brewery wagon to my aunties brothers house in Page Moss Hyeton, but most times in the shelter outside in the street, my
he work nights even wrough the raids Sykes Bakery Rose place he was a baker by trade.as you said Ernie the people had true grit
they still carried on doing there work they got no medals or honours for pitains pay George

Deleted

BOBHAMO wrote:
Olivia street
bobhamo

Not about prefabs, it is what can be seen in the centre of the picture posted. JJC.

John, there seems to be a small row of houses that I can see in the middle of the ruin of the houses in Oliver Street. Maybe a double exposure from another photo?

Loretta

Its hard to hold back near choking reading and watching reports and pictures coming along in this thread "May Blitz"-I notice too that there are still many of us older Girls and Boys still around to tell the tale--obviously of very tough stock, Yes we remember those bad days ,we were just kids -I would like to remember our Parents who saw US safely through these terrible times-THEY were the strong ones.
PeterR

McKenna,

I don't remember anyone from my time in Trinity Road............I was about 5 or 6 when we left there and moved to Knowsley Road

JJC as i have in a previous thread i live opposite when the bomb fell , that is one terrace block the middle object you are asking about looks
to me like the bay windows of nthe houses push together one on the left theb front door is showing,strange thing happen when a bomb
explodes also the blast can do the same tho i must admit it is strange. George

When living in Knowsley Road, there were prefabs behind our house, built close to North Park.

John i have amended my photo
when i photo shopped the photo sometimes it does strange things

bobhamo

Good spot JJC, shame though I rather liked George's explanation. Well done Bob. Ken

Glenys, George, Peter & Ernie if somewhat sad but great stories and memories, had goose bumps reading them.
Well done folks.


Keith x

But nobody complained.

Parents laid out beds in the communal shelters ready for us to sleep at night. We all sang until we were hoarse and the candles were put out."Roll out the barrel". "Run rabbit run" " Quarter master stores" and "We'll meet again"

We all knew all the words as they had been shown on the Commodore and Sun Hall with a dot coming above each word. Everyone sang.

We were very proud people and nobody left the pictures till after the National Anthem had finished.

Never saw a banana for five years and tinned pineapple jam was all we got. Before the shelters were built Dad found some knocked down telegraph poles and cut them to length and used them to reinforce under the stairs.

Nobody complained. We just got on with it and nobody ever thought we would lose the war and history shows our faith bore fruit.


Thanks for the memories folks.