Molly Zebrzuski (nee Lane), by her great-granddaughter Tabatha Stanley- Zebrzuski , aged 9
I wrote this letter about my great granny Zebrzuski who was in Coventry during the Blitz. I hope you can put this on your website for me so my great granny can read this and know how proud I am of her.
My great granny survived the war luckily. She was only 19 when the Second World War started and now is 95. I have been learning about the war and I interviewed her about her experiences.
When the blitz started she was in Coventry and Warwickshire hospital as a patient. Patients that were not bed bound were told to lay under the bed with a wash bowl on their head in case bombs fell on them or by them.
My great granny was in her bed when the wall next to her fell down and a male nurse threw himself over her, to shield her from anything hitting her. She was then taken down to the basement of the hospital. They left her there alone while they went to collect more patients. As a bomb screamed down, she screamed along with the sound, and a soldier ran in and hugged her until others were brought in so she wasn’t alone.
When the sirens ended, a baby’s cry rang out. A baby was born during the bombing in the same hospital. My great granny thought it was wonderful to hear.
The next day she was transferred to a hospital in Stratford upon Avon in an army ambulance. When she arrived she was put on a geriatrics ward as this was the only space for her. They thought she had been burnt because her face and hands were so black. After cleaning her up, they took off her bandage on her tummy and found a 3 inch shard of glass that had fallen down her nightwear and down her bandages in the blast.
Once my great granny was discharged home she had to look after her siblings as her mother died. She became the head of the household and fed everyone with what she got from the shops on rations.
She met and married my great grandad Zebrzuski after the war and they adopted my grandad. She now has three granddaughters and 10 great grandchildren and one great, great grandchild.
I feel proud of my great granny after all she has been through and she is still here to be able to tell us all her stories of the blitz. She still paints, knits and enjoys gardening and is doing great for 95. She is my super gran and we all love her.
She has tickets to go to the blitz anniversary event at Coventry Cathedral on 14 November and is looking forward to this a lot. I hope she enjoys herself.