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By August 11, 1944, I was almost 2 years old.  The previous day, I went out for a walk with my mother and her friend at sunset. The weather was fine. The sky was red. We pretended to be followed by imaginary shady people and began to run to my great joy!

The next afternoon, we had to take shelter in our cellar as the Allies had decided to bombard our rail station in order to keep a German ammunition train from reaching its destination.  The station was almost spared by the English bombers, but unfortunately not the centre of Lens and the mining housing estates.

The raid started at 4.30 p.m., lasted for 23 minutes and claimed 211 French dead. Why such an error?

My home town was liberated on September 1.

My father (FFI / Resistance forces operating within France during WW II) helped to chase out the German troops occupying Lens.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens,_Pas-de-Calais

 Lens / Station / 2002

- A very sad story

John

- God Bless your Dad's efforts during the war, those men were extemely brave in their actions and we all have a lot to be grateful as a result.

Felicity

 That is the question...