Another Early Memory

I was awoken from my cot in the middle of the night and carried to the window. There, once the curtains had been opened, I was shown an air raid over Liverpool - well, the searchlights at least. (What was the date, I wonder now). Since I was born nearly six weeks after the start of the war, I reckon this to be my first memory.

When I went to school, I was given a Luftwaffe flying jacket by my father. I don't know how he came by it but it kept me warm with its moleskin lining. It even had wires up the sleeves. Presumably, it could have been plugged into the cockpit for extra heating. After years of continuous use, it became frayed and twice my mother threw it in the rubbish bin. Each time it was rescued and eventually it was sold on eBay - for an amount that surprised me.

Many years later, I bought a cottage overlooking the Leeds-Liverpool canal. This canal was a "stopline" in 1940 and the nearby bridge still has a pillbox to either side. Removing cement from the side of the cottage, I unearthed a "loophole" which must have provided a third defensive position for the bridge. I wonder if that bedroom was ever manned by the Home Guard.

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