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259116Sheila Pass
Civilian
Although there were many sad times and hardships during WW11, Sheila Pass told us of the lighter side of life as a child during WW11. Very early one morning, the family awoke to the sound of a mass of heavy boots tramping down the brick entry between the terraced houses. Sheila's father (who had served in WW1) quickly grabbed Sheila and her mother and pushed them into the smaller bedroom, told them to barricade the door, and stood ready to take on the attack single-handed, armed with a fire poker. There was then a quiet knock on the kitchen door and when the door was opened, a Home Guard officer politely apologised for the intrusion. A barrage balloon had broken loose of it's mooring cable, drifted several miles and it's mooring cable was now attached to their out house roof! The Home Guard had to trample over quite a few gardens and vegetable patches to guide the large balloon to a safer place to be re-anchored. Another story was that after dark one winter's evening, the local air raid siren sounded. Whilst Sheila's father was carrying her downstairs and out to the Nissan hut, her mother had decided to scoop up the hot coals from the fire grate with a dustpan to take to quickly warm up the Nissen hut. Almost immediately there was fierce activity in the air above in a "dog fight". Sheila's father entered the Nissan hut and laid down her sleepy body when there was suddenly a loud clatter outside the hut. He shouted to his wife to check that she was alright and she whimpered "yes". When she appeared from the shadows into the moonlight her face and upper torso were seen to be covered in ash. Something had fallen from the sky and landed straight in the dustpan. She stood, shocked, blinking and coughing due to the ash. In the morning, a four inch square piece of jagged shrapnel was found in the garden surrounded by a dusting of ash. But Sheila and her father often smirked about the event much to the annoyance of her mother. Thankfully no injuries were sustained but it could have been so different.Andy Swain
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