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This story has been submitted to the ‘People’s War’ Web Site by Betty & Don TEMPEST of Lancshomeguard on behalf of Joe and Gladys ELLIS and has been added to the Web Site with their permission.

War Time Honeymoon in Blackpool

I lived in Windle near St Helens, but went to school in Wigan, at the Technical College. (Which isn’t there any more) I also went to the Junior Commercial School.

When I left school I went to work at Pilkington Glass Works. I left there in 1941 and went to the Royal Ordnance Factory at Kirby, near Liverpool, in the Transport Section, working as Transport Manager. My husband to be, Joe Ellis, used to deliver ammunition for the Anti-Air Craft guns in Liverpool and Manchester. That is before he was called up for the Army.

We met at my Aunties house on Christmas Eve 1940. Joe had been allocated lodgings over Christmas to the house of a friend of mine, but he turned up late, so his friend, who had been allocated lodgings at my Aunts house, asked if he could bring a couple of mates who had no where to go. That is how we met.

When Joe got wounded and sent home, I used to work on a Sunday so that I could have a day off in the week so that I could visit him in hospital. At that time I was still working at the Royal Ordnance Factory and continued to do so until we got married.

When we were married we settled in Ashbourne in Derbyshire and we have been in the same house all our married life. We had our Honeymoon in Blackpool, Joe had just been fitted with his new leg, which was given to him in a big box. It was fitted to him and he told to get used to it. It wasn’t very easy because at that time there was no Physiotherapy and no help was given. He just had to get on with his life.

When the war started we lived in the country so we didn’t see much action, but there was an ammunition dump at Rainford. The German planes few over, dropped bombs, but luckily for us missed the ammunition dump.

My Granny and Granddad lived on a farm and one day the Germans dropped three bombs over the farm. One of the bombs lifted a shed up in the air and another one created a crater, but they didn’t do any real damage.

When I worked at Pilkington’s, if the sirens went off we had to leave everything we were doing and go into a big Air Raid Shelter.

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