War and the forces

GROWING UP - PART ONE

I remember the car sales garage in Melville Road was a store for army boots. Army lorries were parked outside. There was no ignition key but we used to drive the lorries around on their batteries.

In Bath Street behind Compton Avenue a bomb fell, demolishing the buildings in Bath Street and badly damaging the houses in Compton Avenue.

Earlier in the war my family lived at 15 Compton Avenue. We had a flat there. On the roof was a gun to shoot down German planes. My Mother gave the soldiers porridge in the morning for breakfast.

Now all these buildings were badly damaged and an ideal adventure playground for me and my gang. We had two more local churches. St Andrew's was at the Buckingham Place end off Compton Avenue.

The church hall still stands. I was a member of the Scouts here. For some reason this brings a tear to my eye. I always shut gates in the country and respect my elders.

At the other end of Compton Avenue on the corner of Cliftonville Road was a very large church called Cliftonville Congregational Church.

St Andrew's was a really beautiful old church, more in the style of St. Nicolas, a work of visual art. I went to Cliftonville church - there were more girls there!

by Derek Hobbs-Ainley

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