I lived through horrors of the Blitz – I thought I was going to die and saw my brother soaked in other people’s blood

IT was a defining chapter of World War Two, when Britain stood at the mercy of Hitler as the full force of his Luftwaffe rained down.

Now the fiery hell that engulfed towns and cities during the Blitz has been brought to the big screen in a movie that stirs painful memories for survivors who were there as the nation stood on the brink. 

Former fireman Fred Lacey, 91, witnessed the horror of the conflict in Ilford, East London[/caption]

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Fred as a young child growing up in London during the war[/caption]

She says: “A German plane was dropping flares on us as we went along. But fortunately we got home.

“It was scary being in London — you didn’t know if that day was going to be your last.”

The capital’s suburbs did not escape from the conflict either.

Barbara Seaton, 98, was taking her exams in Surbiton in the south west of the city when she heard an explosion.

Luckily, the pupils were in the basement.

She says: “The blast went up Palace Road, Surbiton, and then it hit the first building — the school — and all the windows came out.”

It was a stirring defence of the city from gunners on the ground and Spitfires in the air which eventually persuaded Hitler to end the attack.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s decision not to surrender to the Germans proved to be a major turning point in the war.

‘Nobody asked questions’

Barbara says: “We were near the railway.

“There were naval guns travelling up and down the railway line, trying to shoot down bombers coming over to get to central London.”

The Keep Calm And Carry On attitude kept the country going.

Even though the number of children in Barbara’s class reduced from 35 to 12, she never found out why.

She says: “Nobody talked.

“Nobody asked people questions.

“Nobody wanted to find out anything.”

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Retired librarian Barbara, who was 14 during the Blitz, also remembers her father Stanley wearing wellies on his way to work because of the damage.

The mother-of-four, who now lives in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, says: “He was walking through what he thought was water, but it was liquid glass just running across the road from buildings.”

Fred Lacey, 91, also witnessed the conflict at the opposite end of the capital in Ilford, East London.

A lot of people got injured by the bullet cases coming from the skies. In Ilford quite a few people were killed.

Fred Lacey, 91

He was evacuated to Ipswich when war was declared in 1939, but returned home after a few months because so little fighting took place on the Western Front in the first eight months of the conflict, which was nicknamed the “phoney war”.

Six when the bombings started, he watched the RAF fending off the Luftwaffe.

Fred says: “I would watch the Spitfires and Hurricanes in dogfights.

“I remember being dragged into a shelter by someone because you could hear the shrapnel coming down the road.

“A lot of people got injured by the bullet cases coming from the skies. In Ilford quite a few people were killed.”

Fred, who would play in destroyed buildings, adds: “Us kids, we would pretend to go mountaineering up the side of the craters left by the bombs. It was exciting.”

Retired fireman Fred slept in a small cage, known as a Morrison shelter, in their dining room.

It was only him and his mum at home as his father Fred Snr had been called up.

But many of the home shelters were inadequate and it was only due to intense protests that underground Tube stations were opened up to scared citizens at night.

The countless stories of brave locals trying to defuse unexploded bombs also led to King George VI introducing the George Cross for gallantry away from the battlefield.

Together, Britons found a way through this country’s darkest days. 

McQueen says: “As a Londoner, I grew up acutely aware of the impact the Blitz had on the city.

“It was a time of communal resilience, when people came together with the shared primal purpose of survival and, in some corners, a ‘Blitz spirit’ took hold.”

• Blitz is in cinemas from today before it streams on Apple TV+ from November 22.

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Oscar-winning director Sir Steve McQueen’s new film, Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan and singer Paul Weller, above, re-counts real events from the time[/caption]

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St Paul’s Cathedral stands proud as Luftwaffe bombs explode and buildings burn all around the iconic London landmark[/caption]

Media Drum World

A colourised photo shows Londoners sheltering from an air raid in one of the capital’s Tube stations[/caption]