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Grandpa’s memory of the 2nd World War

Q1: Did you grow your own food?

Yes, my father grew vegetables in the garden and my grandpa had a large allotment and the whole family shared the produce.

Q2: Did anything frightening happen to you?

Yes, probably the most frightening thing was one summer when I was playing in the fields with my friends and we saw a German plane fly along the Tyne valley and shoot down a Barrage Balloon, and drop bombs on a factory on the banks of the river, then the plane turned and flew towards us firing its guns. Needless to say we ran. Then we saw a Hurricane fighter plane fly from the west and chase the German plane eastwards towards the coast.

Q3:Did any of your family fight in the war, and if so were they injured?

My mother’s brother, uncle Freddy Armstrong, fought in the war, he was a regular soldier before the war started. Unfortunately he was killed at St Malo in France before the Dunkirk evacuation. My fathers brother, Harry, was in the army and fought in the Middle East and Italy, he was attached to the Gurkhas Regiment.

Q4: Did your dad fight in the war?

Just with my mother! — He was too old and was in a reserved occupation, working at Vickers Armstrongs, where they built tanks and guns.

Q5: What did your Mum do towards the war effot?

She was just a mother providing as good a home life as possible. She did knit a lot for both the family, and comforts for the armed forces. After the Dunkirk withdrawal soldiers were brought to the local Welfare Hall, my father brought two of them to our house and my parents gave them our Sunday dinner. The soldiers had a bath and my father gave them both underwear to put on — they only had the things they were wearing —but this was happening at nearly every house in the Village.

Q6:What do you remember about rationing?

Everything was rationed, food, clothing, even sweets. The ration books were to get food at the shops, you could get one egg per person per week — if you were lucky, 2oz butter per person per week, 4oz bacon - if the shop had any etc, etc. I remember seeing lines a hundred yards long because people were queing up because a shop had got some cigarettes in. Sweets were rationed to something like 8oz per person per month, and if I needed new clothes my Mum would have to save clothing coupons and money to get them for me, again if the shops had what you wanted.

Q7: What was an identity card?

Every member of the family had one, my number was FGNP 71/3, my Dad’s was FGNP 71/1 and my Mum’s was FGNP 71/2. This happened in every family, the last number being 1 for the head of the family, 2 —3-4-5 etc for the wife and children.

Q8:What can you remember about the air raids?

We had an air raid shelter in our back garden, an Anderson Shelter, which my Dad had built from corrugated steel supplied by the local council. He had made bunk beds and put in a little table and chairs. These little comforts helped because we spent a lot of time in there when the air raids were on. My Mum used to make sandwiches and a flask of tea every night — and she always had her handbag with all insurance policies just in case.
I remember one night watching the flack during the air raid with my Dad until you started hearing shrapnel hitting the roofs all around. We ran for the shelter then, but I had forgotten about the door to the shelter and ran straight into it, head first.

Q9: How did you feel when the war ended?

When the war was over there were street parties and street lights were coming on at night —a change from the blackout — and things became more relaxed, but I was 14 years old and things like sport and games were more important to me.

Q10: Can you remember any other stories about the war?

The Army placed a battery of Anti Aircraft guns at Fellside Road in Whickham in early 1940 and the first time they were in action the whole battery fired at the same time,...the concussion from the guns blew off chimney pots, cracked windows and moved roof tiles on nearby houses. The guns always fired seperately after that.

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