Stories told by the people who were there.


Before half term I was invited to Fallibroome Academy as part of their arts festival for two days Digital Storytelling within 4D creatives pop up.

The theme of this fantastic few days; with the school inviting various primary classes for many different arts experiences; was Flight.

I offered a range of stories which also included a World War Two themed story I call ‘The Forgotten Blitz’. This is story of Liverpool the early days of war, of the strategic military importance of its docks basically painted a gigantic target from the air for the Luftwaffe.

It’s a story that I researched and tell from the perspective the man who is an amalgamation of many true stories. He was an Air Raid Patrol volunteer and saw the bombings and fire bombings at first-hand.

There is a brilliant resource within Google Maps that shows as many of the recorded bomb drops as it can. It shows how often the aim was somewhat off and how targeted the civilian population became.

Depending on the age of the audience, I refer to the allied bombing of Dresden, my attempt to redress the balance of these terrible acts and choices made by both side.

The day after the stories was the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Dresden. BBC News carried an interview with Victor Gregg. It is a stark 9 minutes that I barely breathed through as I watched.

Victor Gregg by The BBC

Well worth a difficult watch. A directness and honesty, a brutally frank retelling.

Watch it on Youtube here.

There are more BBC stories here and here.

I think I am going to watch the hour long documentary about Victor.

My privilege is to tell true stories some days. Stories that were lived through. I wished I had asked my Nan more about her experiences of the Blitz. It was never on the table to discuss.


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