Volume Four - An Era of Change, Uncertainty, Depression & War - Activity at the dock during World War II . . .

Wartime was particularly difficult for mariners of the merchant navy and Royal Navy alike as this life story extract dating from just after 1940 of a fine gentleman named Ray Buck. He originates from Pill which is situated on the river Avon on the other side of the Bristol Channel:

"He joined a general cargo ship which was due to sail out of Avonmouth the night the German's launched a bombing raid on the port.

'The pilot wouldn't take the ship out so we decided to go home to Pill,' said Ray. 'We were walking along the Portway and the German's dropped a stick of bombs. The pilot put on his tin helmet and gave me his trilby to wear and two handkerchiefs to stuff inside it as extra protection. When we got to the ferry we had to shout for half an hour before the ferryman. Bumper Price, came to fetch us.'

Ray's visit home was short indeed. The next day his ship sailed at 5.30 am, calling at Penarth to take on a cargo of bombs and nitroglycerine." [257]

I wonder if Ray's explosive cargo was loaded within the dock or at the relative safety of the explosives jetty indicated in the TVR map of 1895 below which was situated within the River Ely.