Page 17 - HeritageEbooklet

The day Rolls‑Royce was bombed

Mick Whitehead from Eventually we decided to go and
Osmaston recalls his take a look at what had happened.
childhood memories of the We got as far as Hawthorn Street
day Rolls-Royce was bombed. but the road was barricaded at
Gresham Road. We then walked up
There was no warning. One
minute I was eating my breakfast, Grosvenor Street and into Handel
the next there was an almighty Street. I remember seeing a lot of
bang. The whole house shook and broken windows.
I found myself being hurled into On our way home Mrs Jefferies met
the Morrison shelter, very closely one of her friends who mentioned
followed by my mother. As we the damage to Mrs Jefferies roof.
crouched there in fear, my mother She urged her to look up a nearby
noticed that the electric fire was entry, which gave a clear view to the
still on in the fireplace. “Stay there rear of the houses on Osmaston
and don‘t move,” she told me, Road. Midway above the middle
before scuttling across the floor bedroom window and the chimney
on her hands and knees, yanking stack was a large hole about a
the plug out of the electric socket, metre square. When Mr Jefferies
and hurrying back into the shelter. returned home he went into the
The object of this exercise was to loft to investigate. He came to show
eliminate any fire hazard if the house us what he had found. Cradled in
collapsed or the ceiling caved in. his arms was a piece of jagged steel
that had been embedded in one
After what seemed hours to me, but
was in reality only minutes, the back of the roof joists. It was about 20
gate opened and our neighbour inches long and 12 inches wide,
Mrs Jefferies came in to check that covered in stress marks and traces
we were OK. A few minutes later of green paint. It was either part of a
the gate opened again and Grandad bomb casing, or a piece of wrecked
Chambers appeared. As soon as machinery. Whatever it was, I’m not
he’d heard the explosions he made surprised the house shook!
his way to Osmaston Road by bike If future occupiers explore the loft
from Rawlinson Avenue, closely space at 498 and are puzzled about
followed by Grandma Chambers the indentations in one of the joists,
who caught the bus. they can blame it all on Hitler.

17