大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War website by Sue Sutton on behalf of Gordon Mewton, the author and has been added tot he site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was almost 15 when war broke out. Living and working on the farm with father (Nancarrow Farm) Marazanvose. I had to leave the Cathedal School in Truro because father wanted me to work. Father bought a tractor because the horses were getting old and I had to drive it.

To join the village five team I needed to be 16, the fire cart was worked by four men pumping the handle in a see saw motion. We never had to use the fire pump fortunately, but a bomb was dropped in a nearby field damaging only the land. We were told the Germand dumped the bombs when being chased.

I left the fire team and joined the Home Guard when 17 as it was more interesting. We were given a proper army dress, cap, gas mask and rifle. The gas mask was hung round the neck and tied to the belt to stop ot flapping around. We looked a bit like spacemen with the big tube haging down. At night we could hear the bombs in Falmouth and see the lights flashing - 20 miles away.

During the Plymouth blitz we could see the red glowing sky on a clear night - 50 miles away.

We could hear gunfire from Falmouth. We could see the barrage ballonns. father made us go in a enclosed passage in the house with no windows. He would herd us in for safety. Once the all clear sounded we came out again.

We were in the fields loading sheaves of corn on the wagon during the harvest when we saw a barrage balloon from Falmouth coming towards us. It went across to a neighbours and I shouted to Dad to get away up the field because it was trailing a cable near the grid line. We ran and heard a great crash, it sounded like gunshot. Flames shot up but it didn't come down. We saw smoke it had set light to the neighbours corn. I ran to warn the neighbour. It destroyed 30 stooks of corn. Suprisingly it didn't come down but drifted on. I never heard what happened to it.

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