The History of Ruddington Depot
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Wartime Operations
A distinguished visitor
One Sunday afternoon Helena Giblenn went for a walk with a group of friends after Sunday School was over. They went down Clifton Road, over the railway bridge and along Pasture Lane to Fifty Steps Bridge
“We had to wait because a train was going onto the branch line into the Depot. We were getting impatient and then we saw the train coming. As it pulled along we realised that this was no ordinary train. There were carnations on the tables as they went by. Then, all of a sudden we were getting a victory wave. It was Winston Churchill himself, obviously on a private visit to the Depot. We were so thrilled!”
A fly past
One fine summer’s day in 1944 the big doors of the building Eileen Selby worked in were left wide open to let in the fresh air and sunshine:
“There was such a noise that we went and looked out. It was a beautiful day. I shall always remember the sunshine and all the planes flying over. We kept remarking, “What an awful lot of planes today.” Afterwards we realised that this was part of the D-Day landings.”
The planes were carrying paratroops. Within a year the war would be over.
The Story > Chapter 3 > Section 3.16