大象传媒

The World War 2 in Norwich as seen by Stanley
Remembered December 2nd 2003

During 1926/7 my mother and father moved from their railway carriage home situated near to St. Luke鈥檚 Church to a to a new council house at Drayton Road Norwich close to the crossroads near to the Manor House public house. They had a daughter age about 4years and a son age about 1陆years old. After not having running water or a flush toilet they were excited and pleased to have what was then a modern house.

I was born in the above house in June 1929 and when the war started during September 1939 I was 10years old. My Dad didn鈥檛 earn much and liked a smoke and a drink and this meant my Mum had to be sparing with the money that my Dad gave to her for our keep. Somehow though they had managed to purchase a Marconi wireless, and I remember my Mum and Dad listening very seriously to this wireless and then my Dad saying, 鈥淲e are at war鈥�.

The first thing I remember is tacking strips of brown paper about 4inches wide around the perimeter of the window frame and making frames of laths covered with thick brown paper which were to go up the inside the front window of our living room and another frame made with thicker wood covered with tarpaulin for outside of the back window. These were so that we could have a light on in the living room without it showing outside. We also had a brown paper shade around the light so that light only shone downwards in a circle in the middle of the room. We also tacked brown paper over the windowpanes on the front and rear doors of the house and my Mum managed to get some black curtain material which she made into a curtain for the kitchen window. We had to be very careful about not showing even a chink of light or someone would shout, 鈥淧ut out that light鈥�.

It seemed also that air raid shelters were being dug everywhere but we never thought about the significance, and at this time we never thought that we might at some time need them.

When food was rationed and we registered at a food shop I sometimes took my little barrow for the rations, but on occasions when the barrow was broken I sometimes had to carry two heavy bags home. I remember having to rest every little part of the way.

One funny little thing happened! Our chamber pot got broken and they were difficult to get. My Dad knew someone and we walked over to Goldsmith Street to get one. At 10 years old it seemed such a long way to go for a pot.

A deep A.R.P wardens post was built at Drayton Road and this used to fascinate me. It had a bird table at the surface that was painted green, and I was told this would change colour if gas were dropped during a raid. I still don鈥檛 know if this was really true.


Some time later gasmasks were issued and all children used to carry them to school. They were in a cardboard box that had a piece of string through the sides with which to carry them over a shoulder. Some children had a leather case over the cardboard box and this was quite a status symbol.

Also at some time a wooden weir was made close by Mile Cross Bridge. This was made to dam the river so there was enough water for the water works nearby if the sluice should get bombed.

Early in the war I remember cycling to Gt.Yarmouth with a friend but as there was a ban on we were frightened that we would get into trouble and be put into prison. I remember seeing barred wire along the promenade.

My next memory is of men on lorries delivering Anderson Shelters. Myself and lots of other boys were pleased to help carry the parts round to the back of all the local houses and the men let us have a ride on the lorries which was exciting to boys who had seldom if ever had a ride legally on a lorry.

Soon after this my Dad and my Brother and I set about digging a hole at the bottom of our garden but when it was very deep my Dad decided that it would be better if the shelter was nearer to the house. We abandoned the hole and started another nearer the house but after we got down to a depth of 2 feet we came to a gas pipe across the middle of this hole. We were disappointed but filled in the hole and went back to the original hole which by now had collapsed in on itself. We dug some of this soil out again but it never got as deep as the first time because we had got tired of digging and decided it would have be deep enough.

We erected the Anderson Shelter in this hole and we stuffed newspaper in the gaps between the sides and the back and between the sides and the front and then covered the shelter with the soil that we had taken out of the hole, except for the front entrance and the rear emergency exit which we left clear. We hung a piece of blanket at the entrance to keep out the draught and we erected some sandbags in front about 3ft from the blanket to leave room to get into the shelter. We trampled the earth floor until it was quite hard and put some old pieces of lino straight on to this earthen floor and then we put some old mats on top of the lino to make the shelter ready for use. We then put a candle into a flowerpot to provide safely a glimmer of light should we ever need to use the shelter at night.

The authorities soon delivered 5 bunks and these were put 2 each side (one above the other) and the other wider one across the back. We put a straw palliasse on to the back bunk and old coats and any old blankets that we could find on to the side bunks. There was not much legroom for anyone who should sleep on the lower bunks but they were off the floor and away from the damp earth.

During school time when the sirens sounded the boys and teachers sat in the school trenches until the all-clear sounded and then we all went back to our lessons or to our homes if it was home time. At the entrance of the shelter there was an earth closet and just past this a heavy piece of felt in a roll. I think the felt was supposed to be wetted if there was gas. I remember one day when my friend Kenny and I were near the school gates and the siren sounded and we started to run home. We were supposed to hurry to whichever was the nearest shelter. 鈥� home or school - but being boys we gladly ran towards home. Suddenly a hedge-hopping plane went over just above us and we thought we saw someone wave. Kenny told me it was German but I couldn鈥檛 tell planes apart and he could so I believed him.

One pitch-black evening my Dad sent me to the Manor House to get him 5 Woodbines and after I had purchased them I came out of the pub at a run and because I had come from bright lights I could not see very well. Smash, crash I ran straight into a chainlink fence and thinking someone had hit me I shouted, 鈥淗e hit me, he hit me.鈥� A man came to me and asked me if I was alright and told me I had run into the fence.

As a luxury my Big Granny used to have my Sister, Older Brother, or me to tea each Sunday on a rota basis, and when it was my turn I was a bit frightened walking home on a pitch-black evening. It was lovely however on the nights when it was a starlight or moonlight evening and especially when there were lots of shooting stars. I remember one time when I was at my Granny鈥檚 and the siren sounded and her neighbour ran outside screaming, 鈥� I am going back to Leicester tomorrow. She was absolutely terrified at even a hint of a raid poor lady.

Barrage balloons were at some time put around the City and some of them were in school playgrounds. On one stormy night a lot of them were struck by lightning and we saw lots of burning balloons falling to the ground. On one occasion on a windy night, the one at Dowson School was blown down into Drayton Road and its cable came across the live cables on the roof of our house. We went to look at the balloon in the road but we were told to be very careful because the cable on our roof was sparking and the balloon cable could be alive.

When the first sirens sounded at night our family sat in the shelter for hours until the all-clear sounded but gradually when nothing happened we thought they were false alarms and didn鈥檛 pay any attention to them and stayed sleeping indoors until suddenly, one night in 1942, all hell was let loose and the sky was ablaze with searchlights and the sound of anti aircraft guns firing, and planes diving, and bombs whistling down, and sometimes exploding and sometimes just the dull thud of those which did not explode, and we were terrified. We hurried out of bed and ran through this onslaught to the Anderson Shelter. Terrified I held my hands over the ears of my young brother, who was nearly four year old, and we all huddled close together in the shelter.

Sometime after this anti aircraft guns were placed close by our house and we never knew when they were firing or bombs dropping.

The next day my other Granny who we used to call, 鈥淟ittle Granny鈥� came to see if we were all safe. She had walked a long way round from her flat at St. Martins because the road was closed because of the bomb craters. It was not very long after this that she died of pneumonia and my Mum had been very upset because she hadn鈥檛 been able to look after her properly because of the war and having our family to look after.

It was probably about this time that my Granny鈥檚 house was burnt and my Dad helped to get out a lot of her furniture. I remember going to the burnt house and poking around and seeing the front bedroom floor hanging and resting on top of some furniture in the front downstairs room. I also remember an old wall oven, which had been used by my Grandfather for his razor and a few odds and ends, and when I opened the door there was some lining paper that was only scorched around the edge.

I think it was about this time that I went into Wensum Park to look at the pond but found a deep crater where there had once been about 12 lovely brass frog fountains and lovely water lilies. I was very sad as I had liked the pond and used to put my fingers over the frogs mouths and squirt the water in all directions.

One night a bomb dropped just in front of our house and when we came up from the shelter, after the all-clear, we found the front door had been blown off its hinges but only one window pane was broken out of the 9 small panes and also one of our window frames was blown open outwards and only one pane was broken in this frame leaving 7 alright. Most of the rest of the windowpanes at the front of our house were broken and lots of tiles had been blown off the roof. My Mum was very angry because she had left the table set ready for breakfast and shrapnel and muck had landed in the butter and sugar dishes and spoiled the contents. It seemed a calamity at the time as these foods were rationed. She said, 鈥淏looming Hitler鈥�. She never swore! We then went outside to the front road and several neighbours had gathered near the crater. My friend was there in his slippers and when he ran one of them flew up in the air and it made us all laugh. The next day we saw there were at least 4 other bomb craters close by and one of them was a large crater, which an ambulance had run into but we didn鈥檛 know if anyone had been hurt.

Even though it was wartime we children used to range far and wide and I remember playing in all sorts of air raid shelters. One surface shelter I used to play in at Raynham Street got a direct hit and all the people who used the shelter got killed. Other children said that there were arms and legs lying about but I never saw any. All us children used to run over and explore bombed buildings and go down into craters and it all seemed exciting to us at the time. I was amazed, and still am; at the craters I saw which were made by 2000pounder bombs at Barn Road, Patterson Road and Junction Road. Especially the ones at Junction Road, which had two Anderson shelters right on the periphery, that were nearly blown out of the ground. It was hearsay that the people survived in these shelters.

After the devastation from the bombing a lot of the wood and doors from the destroyed houses was dumped on the Havers Road dump nearby, and us boys took some of the doors and used them to float on the water that was in some of the craters in a field nearby. It was great fun as taking our shoes and socks off, we paddled around on the doors that sank ankle deep into the water. It was one night after the wood had been dumped that the German planes came over and dropped incendiaries and when the wood caught fire they came over in waves and dropped more because they probably thought they had hit a good target. When more wood was dumped we took home as much as we could carry for firewood.

It was about this time that the water mains nearby were destroyed and we had to get water from a static water tank, which had been built close to the crossroads. Unfortunately sometimes this water tank got emptied and we had to walk to the river to get water. This had to be boiled before it could be used for drinking or cooking purposes. My friend Kenny got paid to get enough water for his older brother to have a bath.

After this the nights seem much alike. As it got late we would see from our house people trooping up Drayton Road to the country. Some pushed prams and cycles loaded with blankets, and water or perhaps flasks, and food, and some had whatever they could carry. I wished that we could go with them because I was so frightened of the bombing but my Dad would not go and my Mum would not go without him so we all had to stay. I remember one night when the siren had sounded and my Mum had tried to awaken me she pulled me out of bed and dragged me half way down the stairs but as I was half asleep I went up again and got into bed. She shouted at me and pulled me out of bed again and told me to hurry or we would get killed.

Some nights my Dad was on firewatchers duty and my Mum was very worried about his safety. One night after his employer鈥檚 factory was burnt out and he was sleeping at home he suddenly shouted out, 鈥淟ookout Joe the roof is coming in鈥�, and my Mum jumped out of bed terrified because she thought he had shouted, 鈥淟ookout Flo the roof is coming in鈥�. It was serious at the time but later it became a joke.

My father was soon back at work in another factory after his boss had obtained the use of one floor in a competitors factory but this was war when everyone helped everyone else!

My Mum also used to worry about my brother Sidney age about 16years, who was a fire messenger, when he was out delivering messages during raids.

At school they would sometimes let us have half an hour to go to sleep with our head resting on our arms on our desk if we had lost a lot of sleep through long raids, and once or twice mobile showers were brought to the school. The teachers pushed 3 boys into each shower and being boys we mucked about and some boys wee鈥檇 over other boys. To most of us boys the showers were a luxury, as we had never seen such contraptions. School nurses used to inspect between our fingers to make sure that we didn鈥檛 have scabies and also check our hair for nits.

After several bad raids my Mum decided that my brother Sidney and I had better sleep in the shelter and she put sheets and blankets on the big bunk in the shelter, which made it very comfortable.

My Mum was evacuated to Hertfordshire during the July of 1942 because she was expecting, and Hertfordshire was considered safer than Norwich, and my baby brother was born on July 30th. It was only 3 days after this when I went up from the shelter that I received a great shock. My older Sister and my brother were in the living room as also was my Granny and Grandad! I walked over to my Granny and she blurted out, 鈥淵our Dad has been killed and you鈥檝e got to be a good boy because your Mum might die also鈥�. This may seem cruel of my Granny but she had already lost one son when he was 21 and now she had just lost her other son and besides this her house had recently been burnt down and she must have been in a state of pain and shock. I remember screaming with the shock of what she said and for nights after I used to cry into my pillow because I wanted my Dad back. After this I was afraid to go into my Dad鈥檚 bedroom and as I hadn鈥檛 actually seen him dead I thought that he might walk in at any moment. My poor Sister had searched all through the early hours of August 2nd only to find that my Dad was dead

A neighbour went to the park pavilion, which was used as a mortuary, and identified my Dad鈥檚 body because my Grandfather was too upset to face the task. The neighbour later said that my Dad鈥檚 leg had been blown off and it was not a very nice sight.

This same day my Sister, Granny, 4 year old brother, and I went along Drayton Road and at the spot where my Dad had been blown up by an explosive incendiary and his cycle destroyed, I saw the pedal of his cycle lying in the gutter. Further along there were dozens of unexploded incendiaries covered with sandbags and lots more lying along the top of a low wall at Wensum Park where the railings had been removed. We continued past all of this and my brother and I were left with someone my Granny knew while she and my Sister went to register the death of my Dad.

This day was my Sister鈥檚 19th birthday and I had saved my months sweet coupons and bought her a big bar of chocolate ready for this day and I suddenly thought of the chocolate. I said to her, 鈥淵ou might as well have this bar of chocolate鈥�, but all the pleasure of giving had gone.

At first my Granny thought that I was too young to go my Dad鈥檚 funeral and I was very upset about this, but later it was decided that I could go. My Granny washed my suit, which was grey and single-breasted with short trousers. It was decided that my Dad would be buried in a single grave close to his brother and not in the communal grave for the blitz victims at the cemetery. My Granny told my brother and me that we must not laugh while in the funeral car or at any time during the funeral. The funeral was dreadful for me and when I was told to sprinkle some soil into the grave I looked into the deep hole and screamed when I saw my Dad鈥檚 coffin lying at the bottom.

After this I used to look after my 4year old brother while my Sister and elder Brother were at work but I had to go to my job at a local shop to do paraffin deliveries with a trade bike at 4.30pm each day, and someone had to be found to look after my young brother. I remember him screaming one day because he didn鈥檛 want me to leave him with a neighbour. I was very upset because I loved him so much and I didn鈥檛 want to leave him but the neighbour told me to go as he would be alright when I had gone.

One day while I was around my friends house one of his neighbours said that I was glad my Dad was dead and I shouted at her because it was a tiny bit true as although I had loved him so much I didn鈥檛 like him if he had a bit too much to drink.

The hospital at Hertfordshire would not let my Mum come home immediately as she was ill with the shock of losing my Dad and hadn鈥檛 completely recovered from having my baby brother and it was probably a fortnight later that a car arrived outside on the road and she got out carrying my baby brother. I think that I cried when I ran out to meet her.

It was wonderful to have Mum with us again and our lives were a little bit normal again. Mum said that if we had enough clothing coupons that I must have a new grey or black suit and she took me to the shop and bought me a black double-breasted suit. Mum started to receive the War Widows pension and this was a little more than my Dad had given her for all our keep. As she was a little bit better off financially than she had been before, she decided that I could give up my after-school-hours job and that she would give me 2 shillings a week spending money. I felt rich.

One day a W.V.S van stopped at the front of our house and we were given a free cup of tea, which we thought was lovely.

After my baby brother was born a large gasmask was issued. It was cylindrical and about 18inches in diameter and about 3feet long and if there was gas the baby had to be put inside the machine and the pump operated. I was terrified that I should be alone with him if gas was dropped and I would have had to put him inside. Fortunately as he got a little older he was issued with a Mickey Mouse gasmask and this didn鈥檛 seem so frightening.

I remember one night what we thought was a Doodle-bug, went over. It putt-putted across the sky and we were worried that the engine might stop but fortunately for us it did not. I also remember that my Mum and my elder Brother were at the Haymarket pictures when there was a terrific explosion and my Sister and the rest of us at home got under our table. We sat there for a very long time because we didn鈥檛 know what the explosion was but we later learnt that a German rocket had landed at the golf course just up the road.

I started full time work at a garage when I was 14years old and used to help a mechanic to strip R.A.F. vehicles down to their chassis frame and he then ordered any necessary parts which were needed. The chassis was then cleaned and painted by two ladies who had been directed to this work. When any new parts needed were available we assembled the parts and engines and rebuilt the 12hp Tilley vehicles and then went out and tested the vehicles on the road. It was a lovely moment after they were assembled and I was very proud of 鈥淢y Mechanic鈥� and myself when the vehicle started at first push of the starter button. We also did the same to armoured steel Beaverette vehicles and these were also handy if the siren or crash sounded because we could get into them and be fairly safe from bombs.

I sometimes used to pass by a large brick water tank that had been built at Orford Place in Norwich after the shops on the site had been burnt or bombed, but at other times I went a different way past a destroyed chocolate factory on my way to work. One day My Mechanic and I were on our way home when there was thunder and lightning and there was a great big flash which ran down the side of the tall chimney, which now stood alone, and an explosion when the electricity hit the ground. I remember being very scared.

My Mechanic was also an officer in the A.F.S. and I was very proud to see him one evening in charge of several firemen at the local fire station near to my house. The fire station had a lovely black dog, which was often outside the station, but unfortunately the dog was burnt when the fire station was burnt to the ground. I heard that it had been got out once but it had gone back and been burnt. My old Sunday school was next door to the fire station and this was also burnt.

In later years my Mum told me that she had dreamt about the Gates of Heaven a short time before my Dad had got killed and she seemed to think this was significant. When I was given my Dads wallet there was a shrapnel hole in the middle that went through his firewatcher鈥檚 card.

Afterwards when my Mum saw husbands and wives going arm in arm past our house she sometimes said if she was feeling lonely and sad, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when you feel it鈥�.

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