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Army Camps

When Italy was overrun, there were a lot of Italians Prisoners. They were taken round to er the different farms to do farm work. Then after the Italians, there were Germans prisoners I think at the Racecourse, stationed on the Racecourse. Well one section would come in, and they’d go, and then it would be taken over.. yes I remember the Indians. They were there for quite a short time, but they used to um, I think they were a Mountain Rescue Squad, I think they were an Indian Mountain Rescue Squad. I think that’s what they were, that were stationed there. And they used to a be taken on route marches, you know, we would see them go up to the Usk Road, and round, just for exercises.

The Spence Thomas’ lived at Cae Pwcella. Jack Spence Thomas the owner, he bought a place in North Wales, to evacuate his family to for safety, so they went. Well he was afraid that Cae Pwcella would be commandeered. So to save it being commandeered his Mother-in-law who lived near there, Mrs Humphries; she more or less organised it with the help of Dr O’Reilly, I think it was, as a nursing home, for expectant mothers. My second son was born there, it was very pleasant, yes very pleasant. It was sensible to do, and Spence Thomas, of course his wife and children were in North Wales, but his Mother-in-law supervised the nursing home.

Home Life

First of all we had Mothers and babies, evacuees from Birmingham. Well they were scattered around the countryside, well they soon had enough of it. They didn’t enjoy living in the country area, you can just imagine! So they soon went back. So we didn’t have any more evacuees until later on, until when the attacks came on the south coast. There was a south coast school evacuated to the area. But what they did was they shared the school. Earlswood School and Mynyddbach School, with some of them in the morning, and some in the afternoon, sort of thing. But it didn’t last very long, because of course the evacuees went back! The Mothers and babies didn’t stay long, and a lot of the evacuees went back. There were just a few stayed on.

Yes my Husband, he was in the Airforce, you know. He was a Volunteer Reserve before the war. Of course then when the war came they were called up, not immediately, but as they required them, well he was there by 40 I think. Well we were going to get married you know, and pushed it forward when war came. He went first of all, and he was stationed er, near London. Then of course I went out, well I had shared rooms in a house in London. Well the one boy was er, I was evacuated while the first boy was born. Then we considered, my husband and I that it was far too dangerous for a child in London. So I came home to stay with my mother for the...

Yes he was flying, from Biggin Hill? Oh it was a very worrying time, well just letters, that was the only means of contact. Oh no, you didn’t know what was happening. They were, they had been out on a raid, he was a rear gunner, and they were shot down just as they were approaching the coast. And he wouldn’t let the authorities inform me officially, he would write. Well, of course the letter I got from him was a very confused sort of thing, you can guess. He should have let them write really. He went back yes, it wasn’t until after the war he was discharged. Of course he was one of the early ones that were discharged, because of course the first in was the first out. Yes, oh the Authorities were very good that way. Oh it was better that doing Europe, he kept in touch, and he used to get leave and come home to see the boys. The boys well they were only babies really, didn’t lose complete contact.

Remember you had egg coupons. Well you could give it to a friend who was keeping chickens, and they could use the coupons to get food for the chickens. Then they would sell you the eggs, back. There was a neighbour who kept chickens. He was a retired farmer, who lived near Mother, and he used to have our egg coupons to buy corn, then we used to buy some eggs back from him,.

My Husband’s stepmother had a sister living in USA, she used to send things to my Mother-in-law, step Mother-in-law, and she used to give us some things. Various things, I think, and then she used to send
them some clothes. If there was anything that Mother-in-law thought was useful to her Daughters-in-law, step Daughters-in-law, she used to give us something. Well I think that was usual during the war, wasn’t it?

Mrs Liddell, the second Mrs Liddell, she was American, Portuguese American she was. Knew her quite well, Mary. She used to have things sent over from her relatives. I remember meeting her one day in Shirenewton, and she’d been sent peanut butter, and she couldn’t find anyone who liked peanut butter. Well I was very partial to peanut butter. I had some, and my neighbour who lived near who had come from Newport, she’d never tasted it before, so I introduced her to peanut butter.

They had welcoming home things for the troops. You know, sort of um, they’d um give us a supper, Mother was something on the organising of that. Then they presented the troops who had come back with something or other, I forget, a little present. There were watches and clocks in the first world war, I remember that. But, I can’t remember what they did in the second world war. But I know there was a welcoming home things, and they presented them with something, because Mother was on the Committee. My Husband was home by then, and I remember she and he going to this do, this presentation do, this evening sort of supper and somebody had to look after the children, so of course I stayed home with the children.

Schools

Well Peter went to school, we taught him, his parents kept the Five Bells Inn. Well he just came back to see us, and to visit the school, the teachers, it was just incidental. Well Billy Collins, you knew Mrs Collins? He came out, he was, fought in the forces. He came out one day to school, when his mother was teaching there. He talked to the children about the war.

The Town

(Shirenewton)Well there were little affairs, little dances and things in the village, but they only had a very small hall. They used to get dances up to get funds to send things to the troops. Fund raising dances that’s about all there were. Because there was only this small hall in Shirenewton.

Travel

Well you came by train, train was the only means. You come to Newport by train, and then get home as best you can. I think he managed, he would get as far as Chepstow anyway on the bus you know, that sort of thing.

There was one man who was, he was a regular, and he was on the reserves you see, he was drawn up. He was a prisoner of war in Germany, somewhere or other, and he was sent to work on a farm in the north there, and he was very very cold. Mother was on these committees for sending things for the troops. He wrote to a cousin that he was very cold there. I remember Mother getting this heavy sweater and giving it to the cousin, who was a postman, so of course he knew how to get it through. Mother was on this committee that got comforts for the troops, you know, I think nearly every village had those sort of things.

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