大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by 大象传媒 Learning Centre staff on behalf of Roy F. Adlem with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Memories of WW2

I was born in 1930. Here are some of my memories of the war.

Photographs 鈥� Difficult, I was given a new Kodak camera bought from Will R, Roses, Promenade Cheltenham for my Birthday in 1941. It came with 2 x 620, 8 Shot films, I being allowed to purchase 2 such films each year from Rose鈥檚.

Smoke pots, used to create smoke to protect factories in Gloucester and Cheltenham from bombing, they being dotted all round the countryside. After use, the smell of burnt paraffin could hang around for days if there was o wind.

The bombing of Cheltenham, December 1940, mother made me a cup of cocoa about 10.30pm that night. She had just given it to me when a bomb (I think it was one that hit the public bar of the Lansdown hotel, we living in Lansdown place) landed, I do not know if it was the shock of the explosion or my nerves, but half the cocoa went over the bed. The occupants of the house were all in the basement during the raid and in a quiet spell, there was a loud crash in the house. The males immediately checked the entire house without finding anything 鈥� it was only some months later that we discovered a brick had been shaken from a flue and had landed on top of an unused cast iron cooking range.

The following morning on my way to Naunton Park School, I went past a house in Montpellier Villas and a sweet shop in Suffolk road which had both been bombed, Later, I found that these must have been part of the line of bombs which began or ended at Pilley Railway bridge, the latter having been destroyed and not replaced until some years after the war was over.

After any bombing, gunfire etc, we boys used to go around looking for shrapnel 鈥� I only managed to find 2 pieces though others were more lucky (depending on ones view)

Whilst at Naunton Park School, during daytime raids, we had to go to the shelters which were running with water, we always tried to delay this as much as possible to watch the planes.

If you were in a cinema when a raid accoutred, a warning would be flashed on screen which also gave the address of the nearest shelter. I do NOT remember anyone leaving the cinema(s) that I attended on such occasions. The nearest shelters to the 鈥楻egal鈥� cinema were in royal crescent, where the Bus depot is now situated, being partially underground and in poor condition when I finally peeped onto them.

About 1941, a cast iron, 6鈥� pipe-line was fitted above ground from the 鈥楲ido鈥� and running in the lane at the back of Montpellier Terrace for emergency water supply 鈥� notices were put up with 鈥楨WS鈥� on them to help if needed. In Montpellier Park on the far left when facing towards bath road was a large brick build 鈥楽tatic Water Tank鈥�.

Later in the war, my father was taken to court for not attending for a nights 鈥楩ire watching鈥�. No action was taken against him when he proved that he worked 12 hours a night, 13 nights out of 14 at Dowtys.

During the summer holidays some of us used to cycle out to Bishops Cleeve to watch the training of glider pilots at the aerodrome there, this now being the site of the waste tip regarding which there has been a recent uproar.

At morning break, when the American 8th Army Air Force was here, we used to watch the 鈥楩lying Fortress鈥� circling in order to gain height and formation, they seemed to tale ages doing this.

Basic Rations, Butter, Margarine, Sugar and Bacon came to a total cost of 1.10陆 (9p) per person per week, with a pound of jam per month. I forget the meat ration but it was by cost, thus you got more with cheaper cuts.

At the Grammar school, when bread went on ration, the boys were able to buy one bun, weighing 6 5ths of an ounce each per day as 鈥楲eopolds鈥� had always supplied the buns to the school and this was allowed to continue.

There was a British Restaurant in Montpellier Gardens where a 2 course midday meal cost 1.9d. Food was of great concern to growing lads but we were able to buy chips from a 鈥榗hip shop鈥� throughout the war, even if you could not get fish. The main entertainment was the cinema where one could up to or even over two hours to get a seat. I have seen a queue from the 鈥楻egal鈥� past the Municipal offices and around into Royal Well waiting.

The best cinema for me was the 鈥楧affodils鈥� as the only time I saw a queue there was for 鈥楪one with the wind鈥�. The 鈥楪aumont鈥� had a sing-song at 7pm on a Friday night with the 鈥榃urlitzer鈥� organ which rose form the depths. I did not go on a Friday as it was always packed. Later I found out the maximum volume of sound there was only 24 watts 鈥� think of the total that modern amplifiers can produce.

In 1943, my mother and I went to the funeral of her father at Workington in Cumberland. We went by overnight train with my 3 month old brother. The train was packed, but because of my brother space was found for us to sit with him lying behind us. People were sitting on suitcases on the floor in the corridors and service personnel were using the luggage racks as hammocks. It was not a comfortable journey.

The eve of D-Day there was the continuous sound of aircraft through out the night. The 6th of June was our 鈥榮peech day鈥� at the Town hall and we had to go there in the morning to be shown our places. En route some of the boys with spare cash bought the special edition of the 鈥榚cho鈥� which had been brought out so we knew that the invasion had happened before our headmaster had told us from the stage.

Everything was in short supply; we could not accurately do the experiment for 鈥楢rchimedes鈥� principal as most of the small weights for the balances were missing. Usually the master had to show us the experiments due to lack of equipment. I once got told off for wasting paper as the master thought I had not written enough words on a line.

I used to listen to AFN (American Forces Network) in the ETO (European Theatre of Operations) on the road to Berlin, and enjoyed the 鈥楤ig Band鈥� music 鈥� I still do.

Holidays at home were the in thing, but dad and I did go out with Cheltenham rambling club on a couple of specially arranged walks, one being in the Forest of Dean. Mother worked for the 鈥楴ational Assistance Board鈥� before my brother was born and had to visit places as far as Badminton house. During summer holidays I would go with her in the car and can clearly remember seeing rows of black painted Hurricane fighters parked under the trees there, being told by a local that they were night fighters for the protection of Bristol.

Whilst potato picking one year at Staverton, I saw a Wellington Bomber with about 6 poles, I guess about 10 feet high sticking out of the top of the fuselage take off from the aerodrome 鈥� I have never been able to discover what purpose they had.

On Cleeve hill there were a number of copper boxes with there sides missing which seemed to be positioned so that the opening was facing towards Malvern, again guesswork comes in that they were to do with Royal Radar establishment there.

One of my uncles worked for Ferrari at Manchester, he was involved with radar and spent a lot of time at Holme moss on the top of the Pennines where there was an RAF radar station which he maintained and helped to develop, I think it was the experimental one for Ferrantis. In 1942 he told dad that they could hear people talking on the top of Snowdon 鈥� he could not say anything about the electronics. The station was guarded by RAF police Alsatians (which were rained at Staverton) and was for the defence of North-west England.

I clearly remember the day that you could first buy ice-cream 鈥� this was from a dairy at the lower end of the high street and there was a queue of Grammar school boys there that lunch time.

The Americans provided each child with cocoa powder, sugar powered milk in it which was given through the schools 鈥� you took a container to school for it, on one occasion it was given out. A licked finger stuck in the powder and sucked was quite a treat.

A friend and I were out in Shurdington area during summer holidays when a strange plane flew overhead, this could have been one of the first flights of the Whittle Jet as it had no propeller and a very strange sounding engine 鈥� the RR Merlin is still music to my ears. I believe that 鈥楲ancaster鈥� bombers were sold as scrap after the war for 拢25 as long as the scrap merchant removed the plane completely (the 4 engines were sold for 拢1000 each).

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