A piece of history with an explosive past has been discovered in an Ossett garden.
A ‘long piercing wail’ followed by a ‘terrific explosion’ was how the Ossett Observer described the air raid on the town in 1940.
It said 20 to 30 bombs were dropped as people ran for air raid shelters through the town’s market square.
No one appeared to be seriously hurt in the attack with bombs largely falling between houses in gardens, fields and allotments.
Specific details of streets affected and even the name of the town were not mentioned in the report because of publication rules during the war.
In its report, the newspaper said: “What is officially described as a north eastern town received its first baptism of fire from the air in the shape of a veritable downpour of incendiary and highly explosive bombs.”
It described how one boy playing outside was knocked into a dustbin by a blast while another was hurled over a wall. They both escaped with just bruises.
A woman on the street took her baby from a pram and protected his face with a pillow when she heard the sound.
A chicken hut was less fortunate with around 100 birds killed or missing after it was hit.