Liverpool, February, 1940.
Eliza was sitting in the living room knitting when she heard it. The all too familiar siren signaling German planes approaching. Ben and Margaret came running down the stairs. In just under six months they'd become accustomed to the air raid siren wailing, and hurrying with their mother and the servants into the shelter, and spending as many as a couple of hours in there while outside the city was bombarded by bombs. Sometimes the shelter would actually shake but it was Eliza who would shiver in fright- not the children. After all children their age adapted to things like this Eliza told herself. After the raid was over and the all clear was given the children would scramble around in the ruins of places destroyed in the bombing. Eliza had been horrified at first, declaring it to be morbid, but Edward had disagreed. "Let them play with the other children. I know it might sound strange to you but it helps them understand what's going on." Eliza had to admit it had helped. In fact one time when Ben had returned home after one such outing he told her firmly that when he was old enough he was going to fight the bad Germans and that nasty Hitler man! Eliza had laughed and hugged her six-year-old son. "Hopefully the war will be over when you're big enough to fight sweetie!"
"Mama? Don't you hear the siren? We have to go into the shelter!" Ben said, staring at his mother quizzically. She was sitting with her knitting on her lap lost in thought.
"Sorry sweetie. Mama was thinking. Margaret, Ben lets' go." Eliza said standing up, and grabbing their hands. The three of them ran out to the shelter, and had only just closed the door behind them when they heard the first bomb fall. It sounded as though it were off towards the west and Eliza hoped that she was right, and that if this was the case it stayed over there. While a lot of Edwards business was run from the docks he also had an office north of their place where he conducted a lot of business. He hadn't spent much time near the docks since the German's had extended their blitz to Liverpool- it was simply too dangerous.
"I hope the bad Germans go away soon." Ben complained. "I wanted to go over to Eddies house and play with his train. If that's alright Mama?"
"Sure sweetie, we'll see." Eliza said, as she lit a few of the hurricane lamps they kept in the shelter for these occasions. Edward had also set up a few beds, and they kept clothing, food, books and games in there. After all, he said as he prepared it all, you never knew how long the raids would go for.
The children were silent for a bit, playing games, and then Ben asked "Mama can I ask you a question?"
Eliza could tell by his tone that whatever he was going to ask was very important, and she nodded.
"How come Daddy isn't at the war? Lots of my friend's daddies are fighting the bad Germans but Daddy isn't!" Ben asked.
Eliza smiled slightly. Personally she was thanking god that Edward wasn't fighting the Germans! "Well sweetie Daddy is American right, and America are not in the war. If America come into the war, which isn't very likely, then Daddy might fight. But because he is not English he can't fight yet." She explained.
Ben sat and digested this for a moment and then he nodded and went back to the game.
The door of the shelter was opened and closed with a bang. They all looked up to see Edward standing there. His face was black, his clothes were ripped and there was blood on a few parts of his body, but he was smiling nonetheless.
"EDWARD!" Eliza cried, jumping up. "My darling what happened?"
"DADDY HURT!" Margaret cried, running to put her arms around him. "Poor Daddy!"
Edward gave his daughter a hug. "No sweetie, Daddy is not hurt. Daddy was very lucky to get away from the bombing though."
"Edward, where were you?" Eliza asked, and she pulled Margaret away. "Ben- can you get you and Margaret a juice please?"
Ben nodded, and took his little sister's hand. "Come over here and get a drink Margie." He told her, leading her away. Eliza had a moment of pride over how grown up and mature her little boy was, before concentrating on her husband.
"I went to the dock." Edward said, rubbing his eyes. "They haven't hit there for awhile and I thought maybe they'd given it up as a bad job."
"The dock!" Eliza cried, and then remembering the children she lowered her voice. "Why ever would you go there?"
"Business has to go on Eliza." Edward said. "And I was lucky."
"This time." Eliza said gravely. "Edward, you mustn't go back to the docks."
"I can't promise you anything." Edward said, and then he sighed, and took her hand. "I better get cleaned up and put some fresh clothes on."
"Let me clean your wounds first. They must hurt." Eliza said, and she made him sit down whilst she bustled about the shelter and got warm water and a cloth and bathed his wounds tenderly.
"Was it a bad one?" Eliza asked as she did it.
"Not really." Edward said, wincing in pain at one of the particularly nasty wounds. "I've seen worse that is. I had a letter off Father. He's furious at Roosevelt for simply imposing embargoes on the countries involved rather than getting in there and stopping the damn thing. But he did say that Roosevelt is getting the defense forces up to war establishment."
"So he thinks America are going to join in?" Eliza asked, her heart in her throat.
"Not unless they get attacked. Stop worrying Eliza. This war will be over before America join in." Edward told his wife. "And besides I'm too old to fight, they wouldn't want me."
"Do you really believe that?" Eliza asked. "Either of that?"
"The war could easily go for another few years, and if they're desperate for men my age won't count against me. I could only imagine Father demanding to go even though he's getting on to seventy!" Edward said, smiling at the image.
"If they called you to fight would you go?" Eliza asked.
Edward sighed. "I honestly don't know what I'd do. But they'd have to be pretty desperate to want a forty one year old man in their army sweetie."
"The all clear Mama, Daddy. The all clear!" Ben yelled and he yanked open the door of the shelter and scrambled out followed closely by Margaret before either of his parents could even say it was all right to go.
Eliza smiled at her son's enthusiasm, and she and Edward followed at a slower pace. "I wish this horrid bombing would end!" She said with a sigh, spotting the spirals of smoke rising in the air in the distance.
"It will eventually." Edward assured her. "I don't think they can keep it up for much longer. They're getting rather embroiled in their invasion of the Soviet Union and more than likely they're soon going to need to concentrate all their energy on that!"
They followed their children into the house.
[A/N. From memory the German's stopped their constant bombing of Liverpool in May 1941, but I am not sure of the exact date?]
Eliza was sitting in the living room knitting when she heard it. The all too familiar siren signaling German planes approaching. Ben and Margaret came running down the stairs. In just under six months they'd become accustomed to the air raid siren wailing, and hurrying with their mother and the servants into the shelter, and spending as many as a couple of hours in there while outside the city was bombarded by bombs. Sometimes the shelter would actually shake but it was Eliza who would shiver in fright- not the children. After all children their age adapted to things like this Eliza told herself. After the raid was over and the all clear was given the children would scramble around in the ruins of places destroyed in the bombing. Eliza had been horrified at first, declaring it to be morbid, but Edward had disagreed. "Let them play with the other children. I know it might sound strange to you but it helps them understand what's going on." Eliza had to admit it had helped. In fact one time when Ben had returned home after one such outing he told her firmly that when he was old enough he was going to fight the bad Germans and that nasty Hitler man! Eliza had laughed and hugged her six-year-old son. "Hopefully the war will be over when you're big enough to fight sweetie!"
"Mama? Don't you hear the siren? We have to go into the shelter!" Ben said, staring at his mother quizzically. She was sitting with her knitting on her lap lost in thought.
"Sorry sweetie. Mama was thinking. Margaret, Ben lets' go." Eliza said standing up, and grabbing their hands. The three of them ran out to the shelter, and had only just closed the door behind them when they heard the first bomb fall. It sounded as though it were off towards the west and Eliza hoped that she was right, and that if this was the case it stayed over there. While a lot of Edwards business was run from the docks he also had an office north of their place where he conducted a lot of business. He hadn't spent much time near the docks since the German's had extended their blitz to Liverpool- it was simply too dangerous.
"I hope the bad Germans go away soon." Ben complained. "I wanted to go over to Eddies house and play with his train. If that's alright Mama?"
"Sure sweetie, we'll see." Eliza said, as she lit a few of the hurricane lamps they kept in the shelter for these occasions. Edward had also set up a few beds, and they kept clothing, food, books and games in there. After all, he said as he prepared it all, you never knew how long the raids would go for.
The children were silent for a bit, playing games, and then Ben asked "Mama can I ask you a question?"
Eliza could tell by his tone that whatever he was going to ask was very important, and she nodded.
"How come Daddy isn't at the war? Lots of my friend's daddies are fighting the bad Germans but Daddy isn't!" Ben asked.
Eliza smiled slightly. Personally she was thanking god that Edward wasn't fighting the Germans! "Well sweetie Daddy is American right, and America are not in the war. If America come into the war, which isn't very likely, then Daddy might fight. But because he is not English he can't fight yet." She explained.
Ben sat and digested this for a moment and then he nodded and went back to the game.
The door of the shelter was opened and closed with a bang. They all looked up to see Edward standing there. His face was black, his clothes were ripped and there was blood on a few parts of his body, but he was smiling nonetheless.
"EDWARD!" Eliza cried, jumping up. "My darling what happened?"
"DADDY HURT!" Margaret cried, running to put her arms around him. "Poor Daddy!"
Edward gave his daughter a hug. "No sweetie, Daddy is not hurt. Daddy was very lucky to get away from the bombing though."
"Edward, where were you?" Eliza asked, and she pulled Margaret away. "Ben- can you get you and Margaret a juice please?"
Ben nodded, and took his little sister's hand. "Come over here and get a drink Margie." He told her, leading her away. Eliza had a moment of pride over how grown up and mature her little boy was, before concentrating on her husband.
"I went to the dock." Edward said, rubbing his eyes. "They haven't hit there for awhile and I thought maybe they'd given it up as a bad job."
"The dock!" Eliza cried, and then remembering the children she lowered her voice. "Why ever would you go there?"
"Business has to go on Eliza." Edward said. "And I was lucky."
"This time." Eliza said gravely. "Edward, you mustn't go back to the docks."
"I can't promise you anything." Edward said, and then he sighed, and took her hand. "I better get cleaned up and put some fresh clothes on."
"Let me clean your wounds first. They must hurt." Eliza said, and she made him sit down whilst she bustled about the shelter and got warm water and a cloth and bathed his wounds tenderly.
"Was it a bad one?" Eliza asked as she did it.
"Not really." Edward said, wincing in pain at one of the particularly nasty wounds. "I've seen worse that is. I had a letter off Father. He's furious at Roosevelt for simply imposing embargoes on the countries involved rather than getting in there and stopping the damn thing. But he did say that Roosevelt is getting the defense forces up to war establishment."
"So he thinks America are going to join in?" Eliza asked, her heart in her throat.
"Not unless they get attacked. Stop worrying Eliza. This war will be over before America join in." Edward told his wife. "And besides I'm too old to fight, they wouldn't want me."
"Do you really believe that?" Eliza asked. "Either of that?"
"The war could easily go for another few years, and if they're desperate for men my age won't count against me. I could only imagine Father demanding to go even though he's getting on to seventy!" Edward said, smiling at the image.
"If they called you to fight would you go?" Eliza asked.
Edward sighed. "I honestly don't know what I'd do. But they'd have to be pretty desperate to want a forty one year old man in their army sweetie."
"The all clear Mama, Daddy. The all clear!" Ben yelled and he yanked open the door of the shelter and scrambled out followed closely by Margaret before either of his parents could even say it was all right to go.
Eliza smiled at her son's enthusiasm, and she and Edward followed at a slower pace. "I wish this horrid bombing would end!" She said with a sigh, spotting the spirals of smoke rising in the air in the distance.
"It will eventually." Edward assured her. "I don't think they can keep it up for much longer. They're getting rather embroiled in their invasion of the Soviet Union and more than likely they're soon going to need to concentrate all their energy on that!"
They followed their children into the house.
[A/N. From memory the German's stopped their constant bombing of Liverpool in May 1941, but I am not sure of the exact date?]