We lived Swinton Manchester an area which was known for its heavy industry establishments and was bombed regularly.
My mate Freddy and I were playing around in a bombed out Victorian cellar which was one of our regular play areas. We had been there quite a while when we heard a siren go. We instantly thought that it was the signal that bombs were about to fall once again. We both hurried like mad to get out, only to find that our parents and the air raid warden had been searching all over for us for the last 25 minutes.
There was complete pandemonium because they thought we were lost or even worse dead. You see what we thought was the air raid warning was actually the all clear. Fortunately, we got home safe our parents were so relieved. In fact they were so relieved they gave us a good hiding.
At night we used to stand at the door of the air raid shelter; which was frowned upon by the adults and parents. However, for kids it was a fascinating experience watching the search lights and waiting for explosions.
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