大象传媒

My Grandad is now 80 years old and he has asked me to write up some of the things that he witnessed during World War 2 in Rugby.

In our last year at school, the boys who were leaving in 1939/1940 (who were in the 16/17 year age group) were detailed off two mornings each week to help dig air raid shelters in Clifton Road and Whitehall Road.

The first German Bombs to be dropped in the Rugby area were in Pailton. I was in bed in New Bilton at the time and the impact shook the bed. I went over there next day to 'look see' and a couple of cottages had been demolished.

During the war an Air Raid Warden was appointed for each area and these wardens received 'yellow' warnings when enemy aircraft were approaching the coast. Our warden, a local greengrocer, one night recieved a 'yellow' warning and ran around the streets, ringing a bell and shouting 'MUSTARD GAS'.

During the 1000 Bomber Raids on Germany, the sky used to be black with the armada of planes going over (Flying Fortresses and Lancasters).
One night a fire appeared to start in one of the planes and it soon dropped away from the rest and fell from the sky. From where I watched the plane appeared to crash in the Rugby Cement Works area but we later learned it did in fact crash at Dunchurch.

One Saturday afternoon, a German Heinkel Bomber flew very low over Rugby, going in a south/easterly direction. The German markings were very clear to see on the plane.
The Heinkel was soon followed by a Spitfire which, we understand, shot the bomber down over the North Sea.

Cycling home from work in Coventry to Rugby on the night of the November Blitz on Coventry, I was stopped by Police in Ryton and ordered to put my cycle lights out. Carrying on without lights I was again pulled in at Wolston and warned for cycling without lights. I was pulled in again at Church Lawford and so on all the way home.
On this particular night, bombs were also dropped at the 'Eleven Arches' in the Leicester Road and at the Avon Mill public house in Newbold Road.

At St Matthews School during the war, the History Master was taking his class when two Burly men entered the classroom, one each side, took him by the arm and led him from the school. He never returned to the school and was not seen again.
It was thought the two men were from the Security Special Branch Squad.

My Grandma's brother, Jim was captured during World War 2 and held as a Japanese prisoner of war on the island of Java. He was a P.o.W for about 3 years. He managed to write one letter home from there, but the plane carrying the mail home crashed. His family didn't know if he was dead or alive, until one day many months later, they received the letter from him, all burnt from the air crash but partially readable. Unfortunately both his parents had died the previous year, not knowing if their son was still alive or not. He came home a couple of weeks after VJ Day.
My Grandma says he never spoke of his time as a Japanese P.o.W at all.

Many years later my Grandma was shopping in Rugby Town Centre with her daughter (my mum) when she met her brother Jim and they stopped to chat. He said he had just spent ages in the Doctors surgery because the doctor found his medical notes facinating. He was amazed at the number of different diseases/conditions Jim had had during his time as a Japanese P.o.W, and was amazed he was still 'with us'.
Amongst other things, Jim had had Beri Beri, Dysentry, Malaria and malnutrition.

Jim died in 1992.

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