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THE W.V.S (Woman’s Voluntary Service)

In February 1942 a branch of the W.V.S was formed in Mullaglass with Mrs Thornberry (wife of the school Principal) our President Miss Aimee Best secretary and Miss Irene Irwin, treasurer, who was also in charge of our savings groups.

We started work on a camouflage net. On 7th April a large net was provided together with brown, fawn, green and khaki strips which were to be woven into the net according to pattern. We made many of these. Another activity was ripping out woollen garments and re-knitting them into men’s socks. We started a collection for the ‘Penny a Week Fund’ for the Red Cross, a penny or more to be given each night by the members.
We also learnt how to deal with incendiary bombs, fires, and what to do in an air raid. Miss Irwin sold savings stamps, certificates and we took part in a number of big parades to raise money for the war effort. There was ‘Warship Week’, ‘Wings for Victory’ and ‘Tanks for Attack’.

These took places in Newry and all the organisations participated. We ran dances to raise money for the Red Cross and collected paper, rags, jam jars etc to make money for the war effort. We also collected for the ‘Prisoners of War’ fund.

Mullaglass is a small community in South Armagh about 3 miles from Newry. When war formed our W.V.S branch in 1942 the war was not going well. Things were tight. In the winter we took it in turns to bring our own sticks and coal to light a fire for heat and several members brought Tilley lamps for light. We met in the local Orange Hall. We started of with 26 members but over the years some dwindled away. We had to do sixty hours work for the W.V.S before we got our badges. We also got a cap and an arm band.

My Wartime Pen Friend
When we first started knitting socks for the forces, somebody had the bright idea of putting a note in the toe of a sock ‘if you’re single, drop a line’, ‘if you’re married never mind’. About six of us younger members decided to do so just for fun, and to see where our socks went. Eventually I (the only one) got a reply. It was from a chap in the Navy. He was a chief Petty Officer on a corvette H.M.S Arabis, which was based in Londonderry and operated on the Atlantic run escorting shipping in from America. I believe the Arabis was the corvette to be built in Belfast. We corresponded and eventually he wrote that next time he put into Derry he would like to visit the family. My mother and father were very hospitable and said ‘yes invite him down’. So one weekend we got a telegram to say he was coming by train to Newry and would somebody meet him. My eldest brother did so and when he brought him home to the farm, Browne was in his element teasing me about the boyfriend, who turned out to be about 45 (ancient) while I was in my teens.

However, he became a great friend of the family, my grandmother loved him and he visited as often as he could. He lived in Aberdeen with his parents and was due to leave the Navy when war broke out. He brought another chap with him one weekend and he too visited until they were transferred to H.M.S Clover and left Londonderry for the Russian war. I have a letter from this chap Bob Coleman who came from London expressing his thanks to the family and telling us how much he enjoyed his first visit to a farm. We lost touch after they moved, letters went astray and we thought they had been lost. However in 1947 we got a letter (which I still have) from John Dewhirst wondering how we were and telling us that after leaving Londonderry, he went to Glasgow, then Russian seas, Berenty sea, Spitzbergen etc, then left for the Far East and was engaged in many battles. Eventually he got home and then suffered a mini breakdown. However he enjoyed being back with ‘The Old Folks’ (his parents) but he had a very tough war. Our W.V.S carried on and we liked to think we did a small part in raising quite a lot of money and helping to win, after six long years, a very gruesome war, by our contributions of camouflage nets, knitting, sewing and collections of various kinds.

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