A RETRO article about Wellsteed's department store sparked a trip down memory lane for one reader who was reminded of his grandfather's lucky escape.

Tilehurst resident David Haylock got in touch after seeing a pre-war photograph of Wellsteed's restaurant in The Chronicle on Thursday, June 13, to tell his family's story about grandfather Augustus Haylock's close shave in the People's Pantry bombing during the Second World War.

He was employed by Gordon Selfridge and worked at the famous London department store, Selfridges, before he was asked to take over as a manager at Wellsteed's, which sat on the corner of Minster Street and Broad Street.

Augustus lived in St George's Terrace, west Reading, and had been working at the store for more than 30 years after moving to the town in 1908, when a German bomber struck on Wednesday, February 10, 1943. The raid killed 41 people, many of them in the People's Pantry cafe, in Friar Street.

Like most businesses in the town, Wellsteed's closed at around noon for a half day on Wednesdays so most of the staff had gone home, but Augustus would usually have stayed behind to catch up on the admin.

David, 76, said: "He never used to take his half day because that was the day the store was quiet so he could do his paperwork."

But Augustus, who was in his late 50s at the time, was suffering from a bad cold and decided to join the rest of the staff and go home at midday.

Around an hour later one of the bombs went through the ceiling of his office. David said: "We also used to say his cold saved his life!

"For years that corner wasn't built up, they just left it, so I used to show my children exactly where their great grandfather's office was.

"There was still one wall left standing and you could still see his fireplace, but everything else was destroyed."

If you have any memories of Wellsteed's or Reading during the war, email alangley@berksmedia.co.uk