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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Reading's "Blitz"

by tallDenisHerring

Contributed by 
tallDenisHerring
People in story: 
Denis Herring
Location of story: 
Reading, Berkshire
Background to story: 
Civilian
Article ID: 
A2940473
Contributed on: 
23 August 2004

Reading,largely unaffected by air warfare, albeit London was 39 miles away was, on a Wednesday during 1942, hit by a lone German fighter-bomber,chased by RAF, off-loaded bombs, machine-gunned the town.Several stores and other buildings were wrecked. Although it happened on early-closing day, some 49 peope were killed in a war-time "peoples' restaurant" - any other time hundreds may have died. I was 9 yrs old, changing buses on my way home from school. I dived behind a static water-tank (in road for fire brigade), whilst the one next along the street was "riddled" with cannon shells. My trauma was ironically and finally solved when 10 years later I became a member of a bomber crew with the RAF.

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Air Raids and Other Bombing Category
Berkshire Category
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