The Blitz was a period of German Bombing during the Second World War, taking
place from September 1940 to May 1941.
For Edward Sabat and his family, what could’ve been such a simple and enjoyable
trip to visit their grandmother, was instead a chaotic journey consisting of lost papers,
missing bags and several delays and yet, saved their lives from a dreadful
occurrence.
In the early summer of 1943, Edward Sabat was 9 and a half years old.
His younger sister, Albine was seven and his baby sister was only 2 years old.
Edward, his mother and 2 sisters were planning to visit their grandmother who lived
in Coventry during their school half- term holiday.
The journey was long and tiresome, yet Edward and his siblings were all extremely
excited by the idea of such a expedition.
However, the family faced a series of setbacks on their way to Coventry.
Before the trip had even commenced, his youngest sister June had had a fall and
there was a possibility she had fractured her collarbone.
Edward’s mother reluctantly said that they could no longer go but after much
pleading and begging by the children, their mother finally succumbed to their pleas.
Amidst the chaos of his youngest sister’s injury, Edward’s mother had forgotten their
ration books and army pay book in their house!
And so, after 40 minutes of June sitting in her pushchair with Edward and Albine
alongside her, their mother finally returned, and they boarded the train.
However, the troubles did not end there, Edward had been tasked with carrying his
mother’s bag so she could tend to his injured sister.
When his mother asked, “Have you got my bag?”, to his horror, he realised
he had left the bag on the train!
With no money, no documents, identity cards or keys, their family was left
distraught and empty-handed.
Thankfully, the railway police got in touch with the stationmaster who said they would
send the bag back on the next returning train. Imagine that happening today?
By that time, Edward’s mother was exhausted and had lost all hope in the idea of
continuing the stressful journey.
After what seemed like an eternity, their bag was finally returned and after much contemplation they decided to carry on.
By the time they had reached Coventry, it was late, and busses were no longer
running.
The family had to take a taxi to their grandmother’s house and they arrived hours later than expected, much to the concern of their worried relatives.
And yet, the most astonishing part of the story came three days later via an urgent
phone call from their mother’s brother.
He shared news of a bombing in west London.
After confirming with the police, the family discovered that their house had been
destroyed in a raid the night they had been away.
A total of 5 houses had been flattened and several neighbours had sadly perished.
It was a miracle that the Sabat's were safe, the series of challenges faced by
the family, each one delaying their journey had saved their lives from the deadly
bombing.
Edward reflected on the experience, saying, ‘Just as surely, we too would have
perished had it not been for fate, persistence and the will of God on our side.
Everything that happened that day seemed to be telling us not to go and yet we went
on in spite of it all’.
For the Sabat family, What initially seemed like a series of frustrating setbacks turned out to
be a miraculous sequence of events that saved their lives during one of
the darkest periods in history.
