'My uncle saved my life in the Second World War when German bombs hit Boldon'

The former Boldon man, now 91, remembers the day his uncle shielded him as bombs rained down.

‘I could hear the whistle and my uncle realised it was the German bombs’

And he believes the actions of Andrew Paterson saved his life all those years ago.

George said: “Whenever the sirens went, my mother carried me across the road to my grandmother’s house.”

He remembered staying with his uncle and added: “I could hear the whistle and my uncle realised it was the German bombs.”

The bomb landed two streets away in Wilfred Street but it was powerful enough to knock the glass out of the windows in the room where George was.

Covered in a sheet to protect him from glass

Glass shattered everywhere and landed on top of George. But luckily, his uncle had realised what was about to happen and covered him in a sheet to protect him.

“That could have saved my life. I have always believed that,” said George.

He vividly remembers much of what happened in the war which was particularly hard on his family.

His father, also called George, served in the DLI but he was taken prisoner when he couldn’t make it off the beaches at Dunkirk.

Looking for shrapnel after air raids

For the rest of the war, he was a prisoner. George, meanwhile, was a pupil of North Road school and has memories of looking for shrapnel after air raids, and games with friends in the school yard.

He remembers one day when he saw a German plane lit up by a spotlight but anti-aircraft guns were not able to hit it.

And George also remembers the day when it all changed. War in Europe was over and there was a big street party.

George, then a lad of 11, was living in Reginald Street and said: “I remember hearing about what was happening in London and there was a party in Reginald Street.”

Dad was on his way home

He still has the photo of that memorable day and said: “Of the residents who paraded from my home round Est View, New Road, South Crescent and back into Reginald Street, my mother was the sailor central to the picture.”

But VE Day had extra significance for George and his family. They had just had word that his dad was on his way home.

“We had news that my father was due home after five years as a POW. They hung a sheet outside to say ‘welcome home George’.”

George, in later life, held various jobs including as a mechanic, two years of National Service. He ran his own garage for a while and then became a financial adviser.

He moved from Boldon to Jarrow, and later on to Bill Quay and Heworth.