"I am 92 years old now. At the time we lived quite near the shelter. My mother, Mrs M Forrest was a volunteer and was on duty that night when the bomb fell on Wilkinson's shelter.
Her station that time was at Northumberland Street Mission. She went to the shelter and gave help to the few who were alive. They were taken to the mission, a bed was made and food was given to each one. When it was daylight she took some of the survivors home. One was an 11 year old boy. His mother and grandmother had slept through that bombing being drunk! They only lived a few doors higher up the street. It was amazing how anyone got out, as there was heavy machinery in the shelter."
I always felt that my mother and the other helpers should have had some recognition. But in those days we kept each other.
[Mrs Ford interviewed in 2000]