I was in Keadyville Avenue about midnight and I was sitting at the table trying to calculate how much Income Tax I would pay in the next financial year.
I was in Keadyville Avenue about midnight and I was sitting at the table trying to calculate how much Income Tax I would pay in the next financial year. Suddenly, I heard a long roaring whine and next moment, a hell of a heavy thud. I went upstairs to the attic and standing on a box, opened the skylight. Something in my stomach seemed to drop, for the whole length of the shipyard, for two to three miles, was ablaze with stark, white light like the flash when taking a flash photograph.
Then guns, all over the city, began to roar. I knew it was our first raid. From the timber yards, about a mile from our house, flares were soon leaping into the sky. I was fascinated. A feeling of despair came over me - at last, I thought, it’s our turn now, but I found myself engrossed by the spectacle. Closing the skylight, I went downstairs to make sure the girls were all right - and then went out into the street, crossed York Road and went up Premier Drive which is a good deal higher than the main road. The whole sky in every direction was a mass of flame. The German planes taking part had now disappeared, but in half an hour, I again heard the drone, very high in the sky, and many explosions followed.