大象传媒

This story was submitted to the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by Wymondham Learning Centre on behalf of Judith Scott and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

My responsibility during the war was to give advice on the safety and preservation of the precious objects to be found in English churches and cathedrals. Salisbury Cathedral had many fine effigies but because the spire was a prime target for the Germans to attack, we advised that the treasures should be removed from the Cathedral.
Unfortunately by this time it was half-way through the war and large buildings which would have been suitable for the storage of such objects, were already being used for evacuation purposes such as hospitals or for the billeting of troops etc.
At the time I was a governor of St. Audrey鈥檚 School, East Quantockshead, which was located in Somerset. This private school was situated in a large house with fine cellars that I thought would be ideal to place three of the effigies from Salisbury Cathedral. I discussed with the head mistress the idea that the effigies be housed in the cellars. It was agreed that no one else should be told. The problem arose on how to get the effigies from Salisbury to the school since there was a shortage of transport, petrol and packing materials. Eventually packaging was found and the effigies delivered to the school. Unfortunately the effigies appeared to be dead bodies to the pupils who saw them being carried into the school and in a very short time many faces appeared at doors and windows eager to watch. What and who were these people the pupils asked? Were they casualties, victims of a plague or typhoid, or what?
The following day the head mistress was plagued with 鈥榩hone calls, enquiries from anxious parents, asking what ever was going on? Fortunately the parents were fobbed off with some explanation and the incident was quickly forgotten. At the end of the war the effigies were returned to Salisbury Cathedral all intact.
Another incident I recall was regarding Wiveliscombe Church, built circa 1790, where there was a huge crypt. It was customary for parishioners to buy a compartment in the crypt and this was a very good source of income for the church. It was recognised that this crypt, with such enormous capacity, would be an ideal place to store treasures from churches. The treasures stored there came also from the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (the oldest in England) and the Huguenot Church in London. Thus effigies and stained glass were moved into the crypt. Unfortunately the parish sewer broke down and the crypt became flooded with effluent. All the objects had to be removed very quickly. Luckily the two village blacksmiths, who were also church wardens and brothers, were very strong and they shifted many objects out of the crypt and started on the major job of hosing them down so they were all saved.
Another of my tasks was to collect photographs of as many of the 16,000 listed churches in the country. It was my job to get permits for the release of photographic materials from the appropriate government ministry to enable people to photograph churches so that if the buildings were damaged and destroyed they could be rebuilt in the style of the original building.

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