大象传媒

ENGLAND
1939 FRANCE AND HOME
Together with my Mother, Sister and one set of Grandparents, I went to Aix-Les -Bains, near Lyons, Southern France for my Summer holidays. I was aware of the rumours of war. In fact I was fascinated by seeing French soldiers with their first war uniforms of grey, old rifles and horse drawn field guns moving up to the Magino line. I had my tenth birthday out there.
As the war approached, my mother and Grandparents became worried, and decided to return to England. After some difficulty, they managed to book two sleepers and a bunk for me on the last train for Paris on the night of 1st September. I did not sleep very well that night as I was sharing a sleeper on the lower bunk, with a Frenchman who would not open the window and smoked smelly Sharrots all night.
We arrived in Paris early the next morning. We went to a hotel for breakfast then caught a train to Calais. We caught one of the last Cross Channel ferries to Folkestone that afternoon. On arrival we moved into a hotel at the top of the cliff overlooking the Channel. We stayed there until just before I was due to return to school. The next day, Sunday 2nd of September, we had just come out ofchurch as the Air raid alarm went off. Looking up we saw some big planes, coming over from France. Later we learnt it was a passenger plane bringing back holiday makers. Some thought the Germans were launching an attack against us.
SCHOOL
A few days later my mother took me to the school train in London to hand me over to the Head Master, Mr Venables. When she did this my mother told me that she was going in a few days to join my Father in India, where he was stationed with his Regiment, and so I would probably not see either of them until after the war and my holidays would be spent with my Grandparents. At this time my school was in Scarborough. In the first war a German U-Boat had shelled it and the Castle.
1940
Having spent the previous Christmas with my Grandparents in London and the "Blitz" having started my Grandparents decided I was safer at school for the holidays of the Spring term. My father had also been to this school as a boy and knew Mr Venables, and the "owner鈥� Mrs Cooper. At this time the Army took a hand in events. They decided to take over the school as a training establishment. The result? I spent the whole of that holiday staying in a boarding house in Scarborough, with the freedom to go wherever I wanted, whilst the Headmaster supervised the clearing out of the school. He too stayed in the same place.
Just before the start of the Summer term the school moved to a village near Boroughbridge into a "Manor House". The Headmaster and I lived in a local pub, whilst the move was taking place. I spent most of my time doing things with people in the village, and going on cycle rides around the area. When the boys returned for the Summer term the numbers had dropped to about 30+.
One evening about midnight two of us spotted a torch apparently sending a morse signal into the sky at the time the air raid alarm had gone off. We took a note of the dots and dashes, and wrote them down. The next morning we told Mr. Venables and someone came to see us. We told him what happened and gave him the details in which he was very interested.
There had been rumours of spies in the area. The father of one of the boys was something to do with such matters. Later we heard that, down a dry "well" in a nearby derelict barn, a wireless, beds etc. had been found.
As this place was surrounded by aerodromes, the Germans attacked them on several occasions when we had to go to the air raid shelter. Most of my holidays from thereon were spent with my Great Uncle and Aunt at Kingsbridge in Devon.
1941
By the end of the Spring term, all the boys except myself had left the school, and it had become bankrupt but I was left on my own to be taught by the head master. There were several reasons why neither my parents or grandparents knew the situation. However, some of the last masters to leave took my Grandparents address and went to see them. One day whilst I was at lessons, there was a commotion at the front door. It was this master, who had returned with written authority to take me to my Grandparents, away from the school. The remaining staff, Mr Venables and members of the "Cooper" family, refused to allow him to do so. The master went to the Police in Boroughbridge. The matron, realising what was happening, started to pack up my clothes and a few oddments. About an hour later, the Police arrived at the front door and argued with the staff. Meanwhile the master had slipped in the back door, found me in the classroom, rushed me out to a taxi, and we went to the Police Station, without any of my clothes etc. When the Police Officers arrived back and heard this, they again went to the school and came back with these items.
The master and I then went by Taxi to York railway station, where we were taken aside by two detectives from York, who had been told by the Headmaster that the master was KIDNAPPING ME. The written authority was sufficient to convince them all was in order.
On our trip down to London the master had an Epileptic fit. I was scared out of my wits. Luckily an army Medic took charge, who was in the cabin with us. The master recovered by the time we reached London, and handed me over to my Grandparents.
I went to a school at Horsham soon afterwards. Here we had to take to the Air Raid shelter quite often, when the German bombers were passing overhead on their way to London.
At the start of the war, my Grandparents had moved out of their house in London, and stored their furniture etc, on moving into a hote1 nearby. Their house was on the edge of a 鈥渟quare鈥�. Across the road on a corner was a house owned by two old ladies. About this time, during an air raid, just as the two old ladies were entering the house, it received a direct hit. My Grandparents house was also destroyed.
SOOT IN BED
One night, when my Grandmother went to pull the cover off my Grandfather's bed, she noticed that the sheets etc were un-tucked on the bed. There had been a bad raid just before that, and explosions nearby to the Hotel. When she pulled the cover off and lifted the sheets up to tuck them in, there was no soot or other matter near the fireplace, which was alongside the bed, but the whole of the sheet area in the bed was full of soot!
1942
Having taken my Common Entrance examination in the Summer term, I went to Eton at the start of Autumn Half (ie Term). We were still required to go to the air raid shelter when the German planes went overhead. We were very restricted as to what we could do, or where we could go. However, as a Scout, many of us volunteered each week to go round all the 鈥滲oys school houses" collecting waste paper, then, taking it to a room, where it was bailed in a machine by hand, before going to the collection centre. Each load taken was anything up to five Tons weight. When one of us had done a certain period on this, we were presented with the Scout's National Service Badge. I did this each week for about three years.
1943
LAND GIRLS
My Cousin was an area organiser for these around Kingsbridge. I often went with her when she was cycling round the farms. I saw their work, talked to them, and heard of all the work they did. (I myself helped on my Aunt's farm during my holidays).
SLAPTON SANDS
Pre the practice landings before D Day by the U.S. Troops, I went round the area helping in the checking out of the evacuation area from the point of view of the Land Girls, I was also in the area at the actual time of the "invasion". That day we heard of the disaster when the German E Boats intercepted them. We were told to keep our mouths tight shut about the cause, and the event generally (and did).
1944
TROOPS IN WOOD
Just before the D-DAY, an American Regiment was sent into the woods of my Uncles at Kingsbridge. One night the family were awakened by Field Guns being fired, Machine gun fire and mortar fire from their direction. My uncle nearly went out to investigate, but stopped in case the Germans had dropped Paratroops!! The following morning my Uncle went to see the Commanding Officer. On asking the Commanding Officer what had happened, the C.O. replied to the effect: "Oh, it鈥檚 nothing鈥�. Some of my lads saw some pheasants and tried to get them for breakfast". When these troops moved out a few days after this, my cousins went round their sight and collected 14 baskets of Horlicks and Chocolate Compo Ration tablets.
D-DAY
With all the tension of this starting, and the stories flying about, we one day knew it had started, as the morning following bombers, fighters, planes towing gliders were passing overhead, and on the ground, we were cheering them on.
WINDSOR RACES
At this time the V1 were coming over Windsor area. On one of the race days one of them came directly towards the race course. We waited for it to cut the engine, which it did just short of the course.
Everyone on the course ran for cover including, shall, we say, 鈥淟adies and Gents not necessarily ending In the appropriate toilets鈥�! In other words 鈥淐haos鈥� reigned. Luckily just between the V1 and the race course, there was an old, unused tall laundry chimney. When the V1 was diving towards the course, the wing just tipped the top of the chimney, swinging it round the chimney and exploding on an desolate space alongside the river Thames.
BOMBING OF KINGSBRIDGE
During my Summer Holiday, I was standing at one of the house's large windows after the air raid warning had gone off. Kingsbridge was about a mile down the valley to the East. Suddenly I saw a German Bomber fly over the town and drop its bombs. It was followed almost immediately by a Spitfire, which was shot it down later inland.
Later I learnt that at the time of the bombing, a lady had just entered her house at the bottom of the High Street, running up the hill in the town, when the bombs landed as she was hanging up her coat. All that happened was her back door rattled, and her thumb was dislocated by the blast!
At the same time, further up the hill, in a house, which received a direct hit, a man was blown out of the house onto the top of some chimney pots further up the road. He was not spotted until three days later, when a person walking up the hill, who knew he was missing, looked up and saw him.
In this same raid, my aunt was in the town with a pony and trap when the German plane passed over. The pony was tied up on High Street, and my Aunt was in a shop. The owner of the shop, a rather robust lady, as was my Aunt, suggested that they both got under the counter at the back of the shop. This they did! The front of the shop had a large glass window, with a door to one side, also with glass in the frame. When the bombs exploded, the pony strained on the halter, but did not break away. The blast came in the shop door, went round all the shelves, knocking the tins and bottles off, and left by the door, without breaking a single thing. My Aunt and the owner were hit by one or two items from the she1ves and were shaken but unhurt.
1944/45
V2s
Sometime about this time, when the V2s were being used, I was in London and had a lucky escape. I was travelling in a double decker bus towards Hyde Park, when a V2 landed in a narrow road running parallel to ours. We felt the blast, as the bus wobbled. The window in front of me came in about three inches and then went back into position without any damage.
1945
VEDAY
I was at school. We first heard of it that evening. All the boys (or many of) went up onto the parapet on the roof and started shouting in joy. A crowd gathered on the street below, because they had not heard it. Using a fire escape ladder onto the roof of the next boys-house" I took a bucket of water and threw it over their roof towards the crowd below. It missed them all, but a police constable had come down to find what was causing the noise, and he came round the corner of the house just as I did it. I scampered back to my own house. Then I took another bucket of water down again onto the next door roof, opened the skylight. When the boys were on their way to supper, I threw it down the stair well. It missed the boys and landed full tilt on the head of their matron. I make a quick escape back to my house. About half an hour later all the boys in our "house" were called to the Library Prefects room. Most of the "prefects" were sitting down, hiding behind papers (and obviously having a good laugh). The Captain of the House said; "M鈥橳utor鈥� (Housemaster) has had a complaint from next door that someone has thrown a bucket of water down their stair well, and it has hit the matron full on the head. I have been instructed to punish that person. Who did it? I owned up.
All the rest of the-boys were sent out (it was obvious some were listening at the door, expecting me to be caned). The prefects had given up pretending to be serious and were quietly laughing. The Captain said: "As I said I must punish you. Will a Half Crown (2/6) fine be agreeable to you, so that I can tell M鈥橳utor you have been punished? Certainly I said, and paid there and then!
TOILET ROLLS
The following morning, boys had to go from "house" to "house" to find one. Many had been thrown over the branches of the trees just outside the main part of the school overlooking the High Street

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