大象传媒

1941
The war area continued to spread, Libya, Abyssinia, Malta, Tripoli,Yugoslavia, Greece, Crete, and in June, Germany invaded USSR. Their troops continued to advance, and we read about the 鈥渟corched earth policy鈥�. This meant that everything in the path of the invading army was burnt, and there was nothing left for the Germans to utilise. Later in the year, they were stopped by the bitter conditions of the Russian winter.
In other areas, there was nothing but bad news. Yugoslavia and Greece had fallen and now Crete was invaded.
1941
At home, Hitler鈥檚 deputy, Hess, landed in Scotland, and we wondered what it was all about. It never become clear why he had come and he was to be kept in prison for many years. The first US food ship arrived in Britain, and we were given clothing coupons. The number required for each article was specified. This was supposed to give everyone equality, but very soon there was a 鈥渂lack market鈥� and one could buy coupons very easily. People who had several children, could not afford to buy new clothes, and so they sold the excess coupons.
Perhaps one of the most significant 鈥渇irsts鈥� of the period, was the invention of the jet engine. I often feel how many changes we
have seen during my life. 鈥淭alking 鈥� films, the change to colour from black and white films, television, washing machines, computers, fax, Concorde, micro-surgery and so much more. It has been so interesting to watch these advances. In the case of the atomic bomb, I don鈥檛 know in which category this would go.
December 1941
Another eventful Sunday. On December 7th, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in Hawaii and America was in the war. No one who saw the films of this attack, can forget the horror of watching the explosions and the huge pall of smoke rising from the ships.
When we visited Pearl Harbour during our Golden Wedding trip to Hawaii, we first went into a cinema where we were shown
a film of the bombings, and sessions of Congress, including a senator, who declared that the Japanese would not dare attack the U.S.A. How wrong can you be!. The strangest thing about this, was that the majority of the audience were Japanese.
Later, we went by boat to the place where we could look down at the gun turrets of the sunken 鈥淎rizona鈥� , which was the grave of 1,100 men. Built above this, was a long concrete structure, like a bridge, which housed the bell from the ship and tablets with the names of the men who died during the attack.
Again the Japanese tourists accompanied us, and took hundreds of photos. It was a strange experience.
The day following the attack, Britain declared war, and we felt that we were no longer alone. Of course, there were the feeling that they (the Americans) would not have come in on their own volition, although they had helped with 鈥渓end-lease鈥� etc. We were heartened by this, of course. Then we launched a commando raid on Norway, sinking many ships, with a great deal of success, but inevitably the pattern of war, this 鈥渦p鈥� was followed by the 鈥渄own鈥�. The fall of Hong Kong at the end of December. Many of the men were to remain prisoners of war for many years, and we had many notices to send out to the next of kin. Firstly as missing believed POW, and then as soon as we had further news, the up-dated status of POW, wounded or sadly killed in action.
1942
The beginning of the year saw the continuing success of the Japanese forces in Manila, Borneo, Burma, Java and Singapore was under siege. The Germans were still advancing in North Africa and we were still getting news of the R.A.S.C. men in these areas, and moving their cards to the 鈥淒ead鈥� and 鈥淢issing鈥� boxes. Working with the soldiers lives, gives us more insight into the overall position, whereas the soldier in the front line, only knows about his immediate position. We also have the wills of many of the soldiers, and spend a great deal of time answering letters from their relatives.
Our life in Hastings continued as normal as possible. Hit and run raids, which became part of our life, and machine gunning from low flying planes. We still had our air raid duties, and one Sunday, were very shocked when the local church vicarage was hit and the vicars baby was killed. It is difficult to forget the mother鈥檚 face when we were digging. There are no words on these occasions. Of course we were used to our Anderson shelters in our gardens, and also in some houses, the roof of the dining rooms were shored up with tree trunks. There was also the Hastings caves, to which people retreated each night. We decided to take our chance and stay at home.
Our social life was very full, as we had the cinema, dances, dramatic societies, the large hotels filled with troops, and no shortage of escorts to go around with. There were the many signs of our changing way of life, such as the restriction of 5鈥� of hot water when bathing and one tablet of soap per month. Beetroot juice for lipstick, and with the shortage of stockings, covering our legs with gravy browning, and finishing off with a pencilled line for a seam at the back. Skirts were shorter and turn ups were not allowed on suits. Fuel was put on ration, and sweets were to be rationed.
We still had good news from Russia, where the Germans were still retreating, and Tokyo was bombed by the U.S.Airforce. The biggest contingent of U.S. Forces arrived in Northern Ireland, and the U.K - U.S.A. link was firmly established. However, the war in North Africa, was not going our way, as the Germans were nearing Cairo. The Canadians became part of our life, and many of them became our friends. We knew they were training hard for an operation, and they took part in a raid on Dieppe, in France. One of my friends had married a Canadian, and when his brother came back, he described how he had seen him shot, and disappear under the water, as the they were landing on the beaches. It was a terrible mistake, as it was supposed to be an exercise for the proposed invasion of Europe, but the Germans have moved many more troops into the area, and the soldiers walked straight into a wall of bullets. Over 3,000 men were killed out of a force of 5,000. It brought the war very much nearer, as we knew so many of the Canadians. The Duke of Kent, King George鈥檚 brother, was killed when a flying boat crashed in Iceland, and showed that all walks of life could suffer losses in their family.

The appointment of Gen. Eisenhower (USA) to lead the troops in Europe, and Gen. Montgomery (UK) was to lead the 8th Army in North Africa.
It was a very critical time, and both these men built up the confidence of the troops, who would have to win the future battles to end the war.
Eric鈥檚 unit had moved to Catterick and one Monday morning I received a letter, saying he was going overseas and he would like us to get married. I wrote to say 鈥測es鈥� (no phones in those days), and when Eric came on Wednesday, he went to see the local vicar. I got my engagement ring back, as his mother had looked after it, for him.
I could not get married in the church I wanted to, which was St. Andrews, as I was not in the area. The church I could go to, was St. Mary in the Castle, and this was as the name indicated, a church built in the rocks on which the castle was situated, and because of this, was a round structure. When one entered the front door, the altar was level with them, and this meant that I had to walk down a side aisle to the back, and then turn and come down the centre of the church. The bridesmaids were literally sewn into their dresses, and I had to find coupons for my dress. My boss at Ore Place, sent flowers on the morning of the wedding, played the organ and kindly offered to have Eric to stay with him overnight. I was meeting my future mother in law and brother in law for the first time. We could not have a wedding cake, as we didn鈥檛 have enough rations for this, but sandwiches and cakes appeared, contributed by friends. We even had a full church, as the ceremony was on a Sunday, (September 3rd 1942) after the morning service. Looking back, perhaps this is the way to get married. No pre- nuptial nerves, no guests lists, no elaborate arrangements. After all, I first knew about it on Monday and was married on the following Sunday.
We went to Warrington, for our honeymoon, to meet the rest of the family and when I arrived at Bank Quay station, I nearly turned back. Crossfields was belching out a horrible smutty mist, and everywhere there were blacks. The station was dirty, and I decided that in no circumstances would I come back to Warrington to live. We went to see the local places, Liverpool, Manchester, dancing at Belle Vue. As the end of the seven days grew nearer, we received a letter, with O.H.M.S. on the outside, and after some hesitation, we opened it, and found that Eric was to report two days later. It was a real bonus. Two whole days.
From there, Eric returned to Pocklington, and sailed from Glasgow on 29th October 1942 spending his birthday on the high seas. In those days, the letters written by the soldiers, were photographed and reduced to a small size and sent to us as small aerograms, about three inches by four inches. The first one I received was from Bahia, South America. I thought he had deserted, but the convoy had gone across the Atlantic, to confuse the enemy. Then they had gone to South Africa, and then on to Egypt, Beirut, and Iraq. There the troops practised how to land from ships, load landing craft and prepare for an invasion. This was from 31st December 1942.
Eventually, they were told that they would invade Sicily. He was in Sicily from 10th July to September 2nd 1943. He landed in Italy on our first wedding anniversary, but there was not a lot to celebrate. From there, they landed at Cassino, where Eric was wounded. Some of the men were in a quarry, and Eric and another man decided to camp down where they were. The other man decided he would be safer away from them. A shell came over the quarry and burst near Eric and his companion. He thought the rain was coming through, but discovered that he was bleeding from shrapnel wounds and taken into hospital in Naples. The man who moved away to sleep on his own was killed.
While Eric was abroad during this period, the latter part of 1942, the offensive continued in North Africa, and names such as El Alamein, became part of our every day language. For the first time since the threat of invasion, the bells in the churches were rung to celebrate the victory there. It was a wonderful sound, and we felt that we would win. It may have been worth taking a cut in our milk ration, to two and a half pints per week.
The year ended with the news of the splitting of the atom, which most people didn鈥檛 really understand, although it was to have a tremendous impact on the future of the war.

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