Alandale

Alandale is the true story of Mary, a young girl, living in an ordinary street, raised in extraordinary circumstances. Alandale was an unremarkable row of terraced housing in the East Yorkshire city of Hull, which could be the same as any terrace, down any street in the country. But it was more than just bricks and mortar. The author takes us back to a time when the events that took place within those houses and walls, saw people struggling with their own battles to keep some sort of normality throughout what was the nightmare of the Second World War. Hull, an 'East Coast City', suffered some of the worst bombing outside of London, and rushing to local air raid shelters, snatching sleep when you could, and still going to work or school, became a way of life. As with many children during the war, Mary was evacuated to the countryside, but this respite and adventure was to be cut short all too soon...... Seen through a child's eyes, Alandale affords the reader a fascinating insight into the everyday realities of growing up in war, and is brought to life by the author's creative talents and vivid memories of real events.

Born in Hull on the 24th June, 1935, Ethel Mary Dickinson, known as Mary to her family and friends, was an accomplished seamstress and creative writer of poetry and short stories. Mary had a creativity and passion that she applied to all aspects of her life, much of which stemmed from her early experiences, growing up during the Second World War and the inspirational people she met. Mary lived in Hull all her life and was one of two children. Mary had a family of four children and was a devoted wife, mum and grandma. Mary spent several years writing this book and spent many long hours researching the historical facts: the once majestic Hull Museum, now nothing but a memory, the chains of the barrage balloon that had become loose from its moorings in the nearby Pearson Park, ripping away tiles, smashing windows and causing devastation in its wake, the German pilot flying in so low and firing his machine guns at people as they scrambled for cover .....some didn’t make it. Mary passed away on 29th November, 2011 and, sadly, never got to see her story published. But it is one that needs to be told, capturing a unique childhood in an extraordinary time.