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Recollections of Pilton
The Bomb
1940 |
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John Ross, known as
Ian Ross
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England |
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Thank you to John Ross who wrote: |
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Bomb
"I remember a bomb
hitting a house near school and one past Embassy Picture House.
I had a great friend, James Nolan, who lived near the Embassy
but I have lost all contact with him." |
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Steven Oliver
Duns, Borders, Scotland |
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Thank you to Steven Oliver who wrote: |
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Boswall District
"My grandparents lived at Boswall Parkway from 1941 until 1998 and it was
here that my dad and aunt my were brought up. " |
Bomb
"I noticed John Ross’s
comment on the house that was bombed. This is the
block of houses at 21-27 Crewe Place ('Gumley' houses), which have a
flat roof instead of a pitched one.
The houses were hit by a
500lb bomb, dropped by a German bomber returning from an aborted
raid on Rosyth on the morning of 29th September 1940.
Three people were killed,
two children living in no.27, and a man living in the flat above
(no.25)
Miss Pell who was one of
the original tenants of the 'Gumleys' dated these houses as going up in
1933. I’m not sure if she is still alive.
I can remember both my dad
and grandad telling me about the bombing. It was mentioned in
the book, 'Stranger on the Shore', a few years ago." |
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Houses Rebuilt
"Donald Grant (a regular
contributor to your site) informs me that the flats were rebuilt
from the ground up which is why they look different to the others in
the scheme. He had a school friend (John Brady) who lived nearby.
I was speaking to my dad
this morning and he told me that one of my grandparents’
neighbours, a Jimmy Robb of 7 Pilton Park, was an ARP during the war
and dealt with the aftermath of the Crewe Place bombing.
Dad told me that Jimmy
recalled seeing the two children who were killed in the bombing laid
out on the back lawn of the bombed house, without a scratch on
them.
The house itself had the
windows and roof blown out by the bomb. The reason for it getting
the flat roof when it was repaired would have been due to wartime
restrictions on building materials, making restoring the original
roof and bay windows uneconomic." |
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Steven Oliver,
Duns, Borders, Scotland: January
16, 2007 |
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Kathleen Wheeler (nee
Christie)
Crossville, Tennessee, USA |
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Thank you to Kathleen
Wheeler who wrote:
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The Bomb
"Regarding Betty Fraser's letter (above):
I lived in Crewe Place, Pilton, near Royston during the war years and our
home was one of those flattened by the bomb.
The house across the street took a direct hit
and two children were killed. All the houses around it
were either flattened or severely damaged.
The two children (a boy and a girl) were my
playmates when we were young. Their names escape me right now.
I'm loving all the letters from people who
remember the area where I was raised. They bring back many
memories."
Kathleen Wheeler (nee Christie), Crossville, Tennessee,
USA: May 5, 2007 |
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Thanks, again, to Kathleen
Wheeler for sending the memories below.
Kathleen wrote:
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The Bomb
"I now remember the names of the two children
who were killed - Ronald and Morag MacArthur. I don't recall their mother
being killed in this bombing.
I remember my father telling me that the
German plane which dropped the bomb was being "escorted" to the Firth of
Forth by two RAF planes which wanted to down him over water instead of on
houses. Unfortunately, the German pilot realized what was going to
happen to him so he just dropped his load wherever.
Everyone had to get out of their houses and I
remember seeing the flames coming from the MacArthur house. I'm not sure
of this. Usually when the sirens went off, we went to the shelters,
but that night we were home, so I'm thinking maybe they didn't go off.
There were four families lived in each
building and I believe four of the houses were demolished. The MacArthur
house took the direct hit. We had to live with my grandparents on
Grindlay Street (opposite the Usher Hall) until the house was rebuilt.
All this has really jogged my memory about a
lot of things I thought I had forgotten.
Kathleen Wheeler (nee Christie), Crossville, Tennessee,
USA: May 15, 2007 |
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Do you remember Kathleen Christie?
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Kathleen would like to hear from anybody who remembers her. If you would like to contact her,
please e-mail me and I'll pass on your message to her.
Thank you.
- Peter Stubbs: May 12, 2007
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