"One night the family were in the Anderson shelter in the garden when it received a direct hit. The bomb made a huge crater and they all fell into it. Mum was at the bottom of the pile and was badly injured.

Doris and her sister escaped injury, but father had broken bones and bad concussion. The house hadn't been hit and the fire wardens got Dad into it, only to have a piano nearly fall on him. Both parents were taken to different hospitals, mum stayed in hers for 4 months.

Doris and her sister didn't know where their parents had gone and weren't told until four days later when the vicar came to tell them. During this time they had to cope on their own."

Doris Hutchison