大象传媒

My World War 2 Story.

By George Robinson.

I was born in October 1928, at Fenham Barracks, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
I was a pupil at Wingrove School, Hadrian Rd, Fenham Newcastle-upon-Tyne, when the war started in September 1939.
The day before the war started we went to school as normal, given a cardboard box, which contained a Gas Mask, we were all then put onto a Tram Car with blacked out windows, on the West Rd and off we went to the Central Station in Newcastle.
All this was apparently arranged by the school and our parents, there was a Mother selected to look after so many pupils, and my adopted mother was a Mrs Nicolson, as it happened she and her family of one boy and one girl lived in our street, and I was very friendly with her son Jack.
My Father who was finished with the army, but was on reserve was called back into the army at the outbreak of the war, so off he went to the Coldstream Guards camp at Pirbright Surrey.
Back to my story, we were all put onto a train and off we went, I remember going through a lot of country and hills etc, which I now realize was of course the Lake District, we arrived at Carlisle Station some time later that day, disembarked from the train and into a school somewhere, and I remember we were all given a mug of milk and fruit and biscuits. Some time later we were divided up and put onto coaches and away we went again. After a few hours I think we arrived at a village called Winster, we were then put into a church hall, and eventually people arrived from around the village, selecting different children to go and live with them, and eventually a couple came and selected me, they turned out to be a brother and sister, who lived in the village, so they then took me to their house which turned out to be a small cottage, and after been given something to eat and a bit of a talk they showed me where I was to sleep, I remember well they opened this wooden door and to my surprise there was the stairs leading to the bedrooms, up we went and they showed me to my bedroom. I was not to sure about all this happening as this was the first time I had been away from my Parents and all on my own, I was, I think, a little bit frightened, anyhow I remember going to bed and it must have been a few hours later I woke up in such a state, with something on the bed beside me, it turned out to be their cat.
We only stayed there a couple of days as I think the 鈥淢others鈥� did not like it miles from anywhere, so it was decided we would be moved. The next place we arrived at was a place called Burneside, near to Kendal. It turned out a house was found for us in the village, belonging to a gentleman who had unfortunately just lost his wife, and the house was a large building surrounded by it own wall with gates into the front drive, we had never seen anything like it before. As far as I can remember there was two family units installed into the house. There appeared to be numerous bedrooms, but somehow or other I ended up in the evening having to go to another large house up the road from where we were billeted and the gentleman there often got me into their living room and sat and talked to me for maybe an hour or so before I could go to my bedroom, I think the reason was his son had been called to active service and was a pilot in the R.A.F. I think he was missing him. The large house we were living in was full of all sorts of rooms it was like an adventure to us lads, I well remember the man that owned the place had two Rolls Royce cars, one stood in the drive and the other one was locked up in the garage, but we used to have many happy hours playing in the Rolls, we even managed at one time to obtain access into the car in the garage, and I think it was brand new, it was a lovely motor from what I remember of it.
So it turned out I was there about twelve months, because my Father was still serving in the army down at Pirbright camp and my Mother was all on her own in Newcastle, so it was decided to bring me back home to Newcastle. I remember coming home in the train with my Mother and for the first time seeing Balloon Barrage hanging in the sky, I had never seen these things before and I thought they were enemy aircraft.
We stayed in Newcastle for a few months but it was then decided we should go and live with my Grandparents, in Kingsclere in Hampshire this being where my Father was born. So in about 1941 of we went to Hampshire, It was a big change for me having lived in a city all my life then moving into the country in a small village. My Grandfather worked on the land, had an allotment, and I used to have to help him sometimes, when the harvesting was on the go. I went to the local village school, they all thought I was Scotch but really, I had to tell them I was from Newcastle and was a Geordie, the teacher liked to get me up reading out the poetry the local school children used to enjoy it. I joined the Army Cadet Force there, I also got a job with the village butcher and at week-ends I had to deliver meat to out lying districts I cycled for miles. Of course the village life was a huge change for my Mother and myself, the house my Grandparents lived in was a little old fashioned the toilet was in the wood shed in the back garden and was only a huge bucket, with a seat on my Grandfather used to empty this every Thursday morning buried in the back garden or his allotment, no wonder we had lovely vegetables he also kept chickens in the garden, and in the scullery there was a big cast iron range they burnt wood and coal, so on that stove everyday was the chickens brew, all peelings from potatoes etc were put in the pot and all stewed up to feed the chickens, there was not even running water, all the water was carried in buckets from a pump at the bottom of the garden. I made a few friends in the village with the local lads, one they called Shammie for some reason I do not know, but he was a real country lad, and I had some great adventures with him, there was a horse racing stable just up the road from the village, and we used get into the paddocks and try and ride the horses, till we got chased by the stable lads, but that stable was eventually taken over by the American Army. My Mother and myself stayed in Kingsclere for about twelve months I think, then it was decided to move over to Brookwood, so as to be near to my Father, we had a room in a house in Brookwood, so again this meant another school change for me, but this time I was not to keen on the school as it seemed to me like a High School they played rugby, tennis football etc which I had never been used to, so it was a whole new way of life for me, and just could not settle in that school, I actually ran away a couple of times from the school, but I really got it from my Father who was a very strict person, any how one good thing about living there, was that, as food and everything was rationed, it was a job to get decent food but my Father being given the job of Sergeants Mess caterer on the camp, it was good for us as we used to go up to the camp on occasions and get some grand food, and especially at Xmas time they really splashed out for the troops. We often seen the German bombers going over the camp at night on there way to bomb London, but of course as soon as they got in range of the camp, away went the anti-aircraft defence around the site it was like a fireworks display sometimes, then we had to run into the air raid shelters. The house we stayed in belonged to a Mr & Mrs Reason and he was an R.S.M. on the camp, he and a lad called Cole who was my fathers headwaiter in the mess were both killed on the beach landings on D Day. We stayed at Brookwood for about a year I think and then back we went to Kingsclere.
About 1944 my Father was discharged from the army as medically unfit for active service, so we came back home to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The war was still going on then, and it was a shock to find the old place with buildings missing etc. So it was decided that I should return to my old school (Wingrove School) but I was a few years older by now and was put into the junior school, but with everything going on we only went to school for two hours per day. I joined the A.R.P, (Air Raid Precaution) as a messenger boy, when an air raid alarm was sounded we had to report to the local A.R.P. station, and if that was after midnight we did not go to school the next day. There was a night we had an alarm and I reported for duty as usual, and just before I got there, an important communication had to be taken from our depot, in Fenham Hall Drive, to the regional H/Q on the West Road in Newcastle, so a friend of mine about the same age as me, and was in the same class as me at school was detailed to take it, unfortunately that night the Germans dropped bombs all along the West Rd, and he was blown off his bike through a shop window and was killed immediately, what a shame we were all very shocked and I can still remember him now to this day.
Having not had a very good education, with all the moving about, at different schools I stayed on at Wingrove school until I was 15yrs of age, then left and started work, but I attended Night Schools for a few years after, to try and get a better education. Then when I was nearly 18yrs of age I was called up to do National Service, but that鈥檚 another story, for some other time.
I have now reached 77years of age.
Happy Memories.
George W Robinson鈥�

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