大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from 大象传媒 Radio Berkshire on behalf of Jean Meachen and has been added to the site with her permission. Jean Meachen fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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April 1939: Newly wed Sid and Jean Meachen went to live in the schoolhouse in Bucklebury where Sid was headmaster.

September 1939: All signposts removed, street lights switched off, station names obliterated, window blackouts compulsory, car headlights dimmed. Food ration books issued. As non-urgent users we had few petrol coupons; farmers had their good supply of petrol died pink. Clothing coupons next - an overcoat took most of a year鈥檚 allocation. Sid and I became Air Raid Wardens (I regretted this later on). A teacher and twenty mystified evacuee children, carrying their gas masks came to the village. Two boys had their home bombed the previous night and had no luggage.

Sid鈥檚 calling up papers came to join the Royal Artillery in Southampton. I has to vacate the school house, put the furniture in store and return to my parents near Farnborough. My warden transfer came. I was to patrol our road (with tin hat and whistle on every fifth time the siren sounded after dusk). It was horrific hearing German bombers on their way to London.

I became clerk to Research and Technical publications at the Royal Aircraft Establishment where technical authors wrote and updated handbooks for the RAF. Re-organisation took us to London. I purchased a new Raleigh cycle (拢9) as I had to get to Ash Vale station for the 7.07am train to Waterloo and then underground train to Lancaster gate. Hundreds slept on the underground station platforms. Homebound journeys were stressful after dark as there was no way to identify stations.

Sid was transferred to Army Education Corps, promoted to Wo1 and posted to Iceland. One batch of his letters to me was stamped 鈥渟aved from the sea鈥�.

In London we suffered from 鈥榙oodlebugs鈥� 鈥� German bombs with an engine, which cut out when the bomb was on its way. Later came V2 rockets 鈥� they arrived with no warning to do severe damage. One afternoon we heard a doodlebug engine cut out and hell was let loose. Our building was badly damaged but miraculously no one was seriously hurt.

Next day our department was relocated to Harrogate. As Sid had been posted to Netley Hospital I applied for transfer back Farnborough. Sid was to help badly burnt servicemen who had recently received skin grafts, which meant that the pedical of skin was left attached to the 鈥榙onor鈥� limbs until the graft took.

I became head of Naval Aircraft鈥檚 P.A. Researchers were experimenting to find a safe way for aircraft to land on a aircraft carrier. A huge hawser was put across a dummy deck built on the airfield. A hook on the tail plane was to engage with this Hawser. I saw the first test but it was obvious the tail plane needed strengthening.

War over: Sid was issued with a demob three piece suit, a trilby hat and underwear. We returned to Bucklebury to find the railings around the playground had gone to help armaments.
I still have flashbacks, sixty years later, about what I saw during World War 2.

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