大象传媒

Like a lot of men throughout the country, my father had volunteered to be an air-raid warden, as and when required. Along with other duties, wardens ensured that the windows of houses were adequately covered during darkness so that no light was showing. They were expected to help with reporting damage to property after an air raid and to assist any people in difficulty. For the purpose of alerting citizens that an air raid was imminent, the siren was sounded, The duty of manning the site where the siren was located also came the way of the warden.

Another member of the family, my brother, was now in the army and as we learned later, one of the task force preparing for the invasion of Italy. Before he left home, he had bought a second-hand bicycle. The bicycle was not being used so I taught myself to ride it and of course to use it around the town.

Meanwhile, the ever likelihood of air raids was giving rise to concern that telephone lines could be damaged or destroyed and the powers that be thought that a messenger should be trained to take reports to the various authorities that needed to be informed in the area.

There were few private vehicles on the road and in any event, petrol was in very short supply. Bicycles were also becoming scarce, but there was one that had become available. The cyclist who rode it was a Fowey boy, who already knew his way around the town. And so the bicycle it could be said was drafted into service. Myself being the cyclist, went along with it and accordingly, I was volunteered into becoming the said messenger.

My total uniform, was a warden type black steel helmet. Unlikely though it might seem I had a small head for such large protecton. More disconcerting, was that it very soon became apparent, that the black helmet possessed a wayward mind. The large rim did not disguise its uncompromising desire for a close relationship with the bridge of my nose. At every opportunity that presented itself, it became apparent they were becoming very attached. The day was soon to be beckoning, when my training for the job of messenger, together with my black helmet and my borrowed bicycle, were all to come together on a special mission.

Britain had held out alone against Germany, making the best use it could of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, but meanwhile, thankful for the strip of water the English Channel, that separated the British Isles from Europe. The time came however when Britain was not to be alone.

American servicemen started to arrive, their numbers rapidly increasing to a massive one million five hundred thousand military personnel. The accommodation of such a large army of servicemen on a comparatively small island, presented huge problems. The vast amount of equipment, the billets and the training grounds, meant that very large areas of countryside had to be appropriated as an immediate requirement. They established bases in the counties of Cornwall, Devon and parts of Dorset.

Fowey with its natural harbour opening onto the English Channel, was the cause of much interest and consequently, in the area surrounding Fowey, very large camps mushroomed, one of which alone was said to be known as 鈥淭he Thousand Man Camp鈥�. Apart from this, in the town of Fowey, many buildings and most of the large hotels were taken over, but living space was not the only problem.

There were American jeeps and transport buzzing everywhere at all hours. Roads were occupied with military traffic, thereby making any civilian movement extremely difficult. Prohibited areas appeared everywhere. The enormous numbers of every type of transport, together with the vast array of weaponry and necessary equipment, were accommodated in fields and woods and even in leisure areas and farms.

The ordinary resident of Fowey would have had no concept of the vast numbers of American servicemen located in the surrounding area, except for what became evident at evening time, in the small town鈥檚 main street where the cinema, the banks, the post office and the main shops were located. As more and more troops seemed to crowd in, so did all the girls from miles around.

It appeared that neither the countryside nor the young women belonged to the locals anymore. The senior citizens were saying the old country would never be the same again.

The Fowey harbour gradually filled with boats of various types, with noticeably, the majority of these being craft of the sort to get soldiers directly on to beaches. With more boats, came a sense of greater preparedness, as well as enforced tighter security. Photography was prohibited, particularly in relation to the harbour installations, the movements of military personnel and the various activities on the water.

There was no access to many of the walks, once popular rights of way for the residents, as gun emplacements appeared at strategic sites around the harbour. Very soon, anti -aircraft weapons were accompanied by numerous barrage balloons. It did not take a Dutch boy to tell me this time, that even though the Gennan bombers had not come in vast numbers over Fowey, now all the indications were strongly suggesting that they were expected. It was being rumoured that in the event of a large air raid, the Americans occupying the camps on the outskirts of Fowey, would use their own equipment to help cope with fire and bomb damage.

It seemed that anything was likely and when I was told that as a result of my messenger role around the town, I would be part of a practice run, I just listened. When it was put to me in such a very guarded way, I could not help but wonder at the reasoning behind it, especially when it was emphasized that nothing of what I was to be told should be repeated, to anyone. I was eventually instructed that on a certain day, using my bicycle, my job was to follow the main road out of the town to the outskirts, where at a certain location I would be met by a contingent of the American army. Having made contact, I was to lead that army contingent, back along the same route right down into the central area of the town. Namely, to the Fowey Town Quay which faced on to the harbour. Then it was repeated, 鈥渓t is most important. You must not discuss this with anyone鈥�. (Continued in Part 4)

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