262964 Charles Edward Merrin British Army Royal Observer Corps from:Spondon, Derbyshire My Dad, Charles Merrin was on essential services at British Celanese in Spondon. They turned him down for joining the armed services because of this, so he applied to the Observer Corps, spotting planes in a dug out at night during the war.
He went for training, and came home with a great coat, the colour was grey, to keep him warm in the winter on night duty.
I helped him distinguish the planes with flash cards they were issued so he could recognize them through night binoculars. I think I was 8 or 9 yrs old at the time, and was very proud of my Dad with the volunteer work that he did during world war two.
These men/women are never mentioned when the war is talked about, but they did very important work.
Jerries tried to bomb British Celanese, which at that time was producing bombs for the RAF also silk to make parachutes for the pilots. They would fly down the Derwent Canal from the start right down through Derby and across Spondon, but Celanese was well camouflaged so it wasn't easy to spot from the air.
That is all I remember as a child.
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