Recollections of the Second World War, as told in their own words, by men and women currently living in the Grantham area were collected and edited by Matthew Graham (University of Southern Indiana, Harlaxton College Writer in Residence, Spring 2006). Below are a few quotes from the stories of civilians and soldiers during WWII.
‘Then suddenly there was the roar of a low flying aircraft quite quickly followed by the loudest bang I ever expect to hear.’ ~Malcolm G. Knapp
‘Usually the blokes doing the bomb removal came along after we had moved on but this time they drove up and started to drop the hook of the crane. I heard the sergeant shout, “Don’t touch that.” I heard a loud bang and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. I was told that my hearing had been damaged and that the sergeant was dead. I was discharged from the RAF shortly afterwards.’ ~Ron Howe
On the morning of the 26th we were relieved to find the house still standing – a few broken windows and a broken chimney, was the extent of the damage. We could see from our windows buildings burning down in the city and the air was full of dust and smoke. ~Margaret Ashley
‘I was just a child of eight and was visiting my grandmother who lived close to a large American army base… I raced to the camp as fast as my legs would carry me and was given this lovely orange by a young and smiling American Soldier.’ ~Lionel Gibbs
Find out more:
Read Matthew Graham’s entire collection of stories. QR12_Days of Their Lives
Harlaxton Manor Archives 