got the box. Oh, do come on , Mother.’
In the corner of the living room stood a box packed with last-minute items for a sojourn in the cellar. Mary picked it up and opened the door. She turned on the light to illuminate the steps leading downwards.
‘That you, Mary love?’ A voice drifted up from below, and behind Mary, Grace said, ‘Oh no. Don’t tell me Letty’s there already. I reckon I’d sooner face Hitler’s bombs.’
‘Shh, Mother, she’ll hear you.’
Grace sniffed. ‘Don’t care if she does. She might take the hint, though I doubt it.’
‘Want any help, love?’ Tom’s deep voice now called.
‘If you could just help Mother down, Tom . . . Myrtle, do hurry up.’
But Myrtle was peering out of the front window, fascinated by the unfolding drama. ‘They’re dropping flares, Mam. They’re lighting up the whole sky. Come and look.’
‘I’ll do no such thing,’ Mary said. ‘And neither will you. Get—’
And then they both heard the long-drawn-out ominous whistle of a falling bomb.
‘Oh, now what?’ Rose muttered as the screen went blank and the auditorium was plunged into darkness.
‘It’ll be a break in the film, I expect,’ Alice said. ‘It happens sometimes. They’ll have to repair it. Fancy an ice cream while we wait?’
Several of the picture-goers began to whistle and catcall, but then the manager was standing in front of the screen and everyone fell silent.
‘An air raid is in progress,’ he said without preamble. ‘Please make your way to the shelter below the cinema. We will serve soft drinks and ice cream free of charge as we will be unable to continue with the programme at the present time.’
They left their seats with the rest of the audience and filed in an orderly fashion towards the stairs leading down to the shelter – a spacious area beneath the cinema. There was plenty of room and the usherettes were already handing out refreshments. But Rose hesitated. ‘I ought to go home or find out where Peg is.’
Alice grabbed her arm. ‘You’ll do nothing of the sort. You’ll get yourself killed.’ At that moment there was a resounding crash and the whole building seemed to shake.
Peggy wasn’t knocked out for many seconds and instinctively she’d managed to cling to the rail to stop herself falling into the road. Coughing in the cloud of dust the explosion had caused, she hauled herself to her feet and staggered into the body of the tram. Not a window was left whole and one side of the vehicle had been badly damaged. She feared for the passengers who were sitting on that side. One or two were pulling themselves to their feet, others were sitting very still. Outside, flames were already engulfing the buildings that had received a direct hit.
‘Here, love, let me help you,’ Peggy heard a deep voice say and saw a dark-haired young man in army uniform helping a lady up from the floor, where she’d been thrown.
‘Please leave the car if you can,’ Peggy shouted to her passengers. She couldn’t see if anyone was seriously hurt, but she was fearful there must be casualties. All around her she could hear moaning and women crying. Thank goodness there’d been no children aboard when the blast had happened. She couldn’t have borne having to lift a child out of the wreckage. She struggled forward, her eyes stinging, her breathing rasping, to find a woman collapsed on one of the seats. She tried to lift the woman, who was unconscious – or worse, Peggy thought, though she couldn’t tell – when the soldier scrambled to her side. ‘I’ll lift her, love. You take her legs.’
‘Oh my God,’ Peggy breathed. ‘They’re covered in blood. Ought we to move her?’
‘No, no, we’d better leave her there,’ the soldier said. ‘There’s bound to be help arriving very soon. They’ll know what’s best to do. My basic first aid isn’t up to dealing with summat like this.’
‘I’ll stay with her,’ Peggy said, as she glanced up into the dark
In the corner of the living room stood a box packed with last-minute items for a sojourn in the cellar. Mary picked it up and opened the door. She turned on the light to illuminate the steps leading downwards.
‘That you, Mary love?’ A voice drifted up from below, and behind Mary, Grace said, ‘Oh no. Don’t tell me Letty’s there already. I reckon I’d sooner face Hitler’s bombs.’
‘Shh, Mother, she’ll hear you.’
Grace sniffed. ‘Don’t care if she does. She might take the hint, though I doubt it.’
‘Want any help, love?’ Tom’s deep voice now called.
‘If you could just help Mother down, Tom . . . Myrtle, do hurry up.’
But Myrtle was peering out of the front window, fascinated by the unfolding drama. ‘They’re dropping flares, Mam. They’re lighting up the whole sky. Come and look.’
‘I’ll do no such thing,’ Mary said. ‘And neither will you. Get—’
And then they both heard the long-drawn-out ominous whistle of a falling bomb.
‘Oh, now what?’ Rose muttered as the screen went blank and the auditorium was plunged into darkness.
‘It’ll be a break in the film, I expect,’ Alice said. ‘It happens sometimes. They’ll have to repair it. Fancy an ice cream while we wait?’
Several of the picture-goers began to whistle and catcall, but then the manager was standing in front of the screen and everyone fell silent.
‘An air raid is in progress,’ he said without preamble. ‘Please make your way to the shelter below the cinema. We will serve soft drinks and ice cream free of charge as we will be unable to continue with the programme at the present time.’
They left their seats with the rest of the audience and filed in an orderly fashion towards the stairs leading down to the shelter – a spacious area beneath the cinema. There was plenty of room and the usherettes were already handing out refreshments. But Rose hesitated. ‘I ought to go home or find out where Peg is.’
Alice grabbed her arm. ‘You’ll do nothing of the sort. You’ll get yourself killed.’ At that moment there was a resounding crash and the whole building seemed to shake.
Peggy wasn’t knocked out for many seconds and instinctively she’d managed to cling to the rail to stop herself falling into the road. Coughing in the cloud of dust the explosion had caused, she hauled herself to her feet and staggered into the body of the tram. Not a window was left whole and one side of the vehicle had been badly damaged. She feared for the passengers who were sitting on that side. One or two were pulling themselves to their feet, others were sitting very still. Outside, flames were already engulfing the buildings that had received a direct hit.
‘Here, love, let me help you,’ Peggy heard a deep voice say and saw a dark-haired young man in army uniform helping a lady up from the floor, where she’d been thrown.
‘Please leave the car if you can,’ Peggy shouted to her passengers. She couldn’t see if anyone was seriously hurt, but she was fearful there must be casualties. All around her she could hear moaning and women crying. Thank goodness there’d been no children aboard when the blast had happened. She couldn’t have borne having to lift a child out of the wreckage. She struggled forward, her eyes stinging, her breathing rasping, to find a woman collapsed on one of the seats. She tried to lift the woman, who was unconscious – or worse, Peggy thought, though she couldn’t tell – when the soldier scrambled to her side. ‘I’ll lift her, love. You take her legs.’
‘Oh my God,’ Peggy breathed. ‘They’re covered in blood. Ought we to move her?’
‘No, no, we’d better leave her there,’ the soldier said. ‘There’s bound to be help arriving very soon. They’ll know what’s best to do. My basic first aid isn’t up to dealing with summat like this.’
‘I’ll stay with her,’ Peggy said, as she glanced up into the dark
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