´óÏó´«Ã½

This story was entered onto the Peoples War web site by John Warner on behalf of Phylis Beattie, the author who fully understands and accepts the sites terms and conditions.

On July 7th. 1940, which was a Sunday, I went on a walk with several of my friends. We were all members of Emmanuel Baptist Church, which was on Western Terrace, and were known as the Young Worshippers League.
At the time I lived in Lister Street, Falmouth, with my mum dad and brother. I was 18 years old. It was a lovely day so we strolled around the sea front, past Castle Beach and Gyllyngvase Beach, before we returned home for tea.
My Mum and Dad had it all ready so we sat down to begin our meal. As we did so the air raid siren sounded and there was the noise of an approaching very low aircraft. We suddenly realised that we might be bombed, so very quickly got into the cupboard under their stairs. Then suddenly there was a terrific explosion and half the house fell down around us. We sat there afraid to move in case of further attacks. Eventually the ‘all clear’ sounded and we managed to struggle into our back garden. To our horror we realised that the middle house in the block of five had been destroyed by the bomb, and we later learned that all six occupants had been killed. The house next to us had come down as well as the third house in the block of five, burying the occupants in both houses. However, they all did get out alive. The house opposite and the hill had also been damaged. There was a huge crater in the hill, and the house had been sliced in half, but luckily no one else was killed.

Of course after this we all had to find somewhere else to live. First of all we moved in with my Aunt and Uncle in Langton Road for a while, and then eventually we were allocated a council house in Pendarves Road. Lister Street was bombed again two or three times and a man was killed at the top of the street.

Sometime after all this I joined up as a Wren in The Women’s Royal Naval Service. I was what was known as an ’Immobile Wren’, which meant that I stayed at home in Falmouth for the rest of the war, but was still a Wren. But that’s another story.

During my time as a Wren I first of all worked as a bookkeeper in Shed 43 in Falmouth Docks. This shed was the Naval Stores where a lot of kit was kept, and distributed when needed by the Navy. It was a long walk each day from Pendarves Road, but good exercise. Later I was transferred to Fort 3, above Taylor’s Garage to work in the offices there, again as a bookkeeper, and was promoted to a Leading Wren. Taylor’s Garage was where Trago is now. Payday was usually at what I think was the Imperial Hotel, Bar Road. There was also a shooting range there, so you could learn to handle a gun. Sometimes we spent nights fire-watching on the sea front at what is now the Membly Hall Hotel. Most of the hotels on the sea front were taken over either by the Navy and Wrens, by the Merchant Navy, the RAF, AA Defences, the Army, and the Americans etc.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.