The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here:

Templemeads Station

My father was working on Templemeads Station around the time it was bombed, I have the feeling it was a Saturday night in the summer of 1942.  I was about four years old and we were lodging in a house by the Avon with a cellar and several storeys as my mother had decided that Bristol was safer than London.
 Unfortunately the raids started almost as soon as we arrived.  We had to  spend our nights in the Anderson shelter in the garden but my father decided we would be safer at the railway station with him where he was moving troop trains at night.(!).  Fortunately as it later happened he was injured on the line the night before the bombing and had to stay at  home so we went back into the Anderson in the garden.  In the morning, although I did not know it, Templemeads was destroyed with great loss of life.
I have other memories which may be of interest to Bristol readers such as a vivid view from the steps of the house of a dogfight overhead.  I don't think I was supposed to have come up from the cellar but my mother had gone to a standpipe for water.  My mother, after about a week, decided Bristol was not safer than London after all and we went to Clevedon.  Does anyone remember the shop that displayed wedding dresses in its window despite many surrounding buildings being destroyed?  I remember I was put through to the front of the crowd that gathered in front of the window.  I do hope this will jog someone's memory and they can help fill in some dates and blanks for me. I would like to pass some wartime memories for my grandchildren.  Thank you Anne

Written by Anne Cross. To send Anne Cross a private message, click here.

A memory of Bristol in Avon shared on Monday, 13th August 2007.

Memories Links

Other memories of

See more memories of Bristol

Bristol homepage

Add a Memory for another place

Tips & Ideas

How does Bristol feature in your personal history?

What are your best memories of Bristol?

How has Bristol changed over the years?

Share memories about your local community, its history and people.

Comments

RE: RE: Templemeads Station

Do you know what caused the regular round holes which are still visible on the front of the Templemeads building? Was it the WW2 bombing or something else?

Comment from Jack Higgins on Sunday, 30th November 2008.

Comments

1 comment has been shared so far in response to the memory "Templemeads Station".

Why not get involved and post your comments using the comment form below.

Post a Comment about this Memory

To post a comment about this Memory, complete the form below. Your comment will appear alongside the original Memory on the website. If you wish to send a private message (not published on the website) to the person that wrote the Memory, click here.

Subject: RE: Templemeads Station
You have to be logged in to be able to post a comment.
If you have a Frith account, then please log in below, if not, click here to create one.
Email:
Password:
Comment:
  Note: There is a 300-word limit - you have 300 words remaining.

© Copyright 1998-2012 Frith Content Inc. All rights reserved.