大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Sidney Knight. He fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was still at school in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire when the war started and I didn鈥檛 worry much about it then. Eventually the school organised an allotment which the boys took turns to tend on a rota system, buying the produce at harvest time. Later during the war, the older children were sent out to farms to help with the potato picking. We spent the whole day there, eating our sandwiches at midday. Almost everyone took part in the 鈥淒ig for Victory鈥� campaign to help the war effort. Many lawns were turned into vegetable patches; hens were a great asset..

I had three older brothers. The eldest was conscripted into the army almost immediately on the outbreak of war. He escaped from northern France when the Germans overran that country. Somehow my parents heard that a troop train was expected in South Wigston so I went with my mother to look for him. The soldiers marched, rather raggedly it must be said, to the Glen Parva Barracks. Not one wore a full uniform, some had lost their shirts completely whilst others wore whatever trousers they had been able to acquire. None seemed to have proper army boots. My mother was very upset when we could not find my brother. He did get back, crossing the channel on a coal transport boat, and was discharged from the army shortly afterwards as physically unfit.

My second eldest brother went into the 8th Army and was sent to North Africa where he was taken prisoner after the fall of Tobruk. He was a prisoner of war for four years, first in the hands of the Italians then the Germans. He returned home towards the end of the war, almost unrecognisable. He had lost a lot of weight and looked very gaunt. He showed us a piece of the 鈥渂lack鈥� bread that had been part of their rations.

My other brother was called up as the war progressed. During the push towards the bridge at Arnhem as part of 鈥淥peration Market Garden鈥�, he was shot in the leg near Nijmegen. He was sent back to England to the hospital at Stoke Mandeville, where I went to visit him.

Although the air raid warning signal sounded a few times during the early months of the war, there was no heavy bombing in our area. However, once the Germans had taken France, the severity of raids increased. I remember going out one night to see the reflection in the sky as huge fires burned in the direction of Coventry.

The war in the Atlantic was not going well as many merchant ships were sunk. Ration books were issued and everyone had to register with a particular grocer who sold food in exchange for coupons. Meat and milk supplies were also limited. When tins of 鈥渟pam鈥� arrived from the USA we thought it was delicious.

The iron railings at the front of our house were removed and turned into metal for war weapons, as were those at the school and the local park. Everyone was issued with an Identity Card with an individual number. I can still remember mine quite clearly.

A considerable number of evacuee families arrived from London to escape the blitz: these were accommodated in a number of recently-built empty houses in South Wigston.

All signposts were removed in order to hinder any enemy troops that might arrive. 鈥淭ank traps鈥� were installed near the canal bridge at South Wigston, and at Kilby Bridge along the main road to Welford in Northamptonshire. These consisted of steel bars, two to three feet long, let into the road across its full width. In an emergency they could be raised to form a barrier. They were operated by the Home Guard.

At the age of fourteen I became an apprentice at an engineering firm in Leicester. The factory produced gun barrels and I learnt how to manufacture the machine tools used in the process. All apprentices were supplied with free milky cocoa each day, whereas other employees had to make do with tea. I hadn鈥檛 worked there long when one of the men sent me to the stores for a 鈥渟hort rest鈥�. I gave the order docket to the storekeeper who returned about ten minutes later to tell me that I had had a short rest and could now return to the job I was supposed to be doing!

Bus fares to Leicester were rather costly for someone on a small wage so I decided to get a bicycle from somewhere, eventually putting together something serviceable from parts found at the local rubbish 鈥渢ip鈥�.

When D-Day arrived, all the apprentices at our factory went to the nearby church for
a special service.

I joined the Sea Cadets and learnt to play a bugle in the band. We gave marching displays at many local events, including 鈥淲ings for Victory鈥� and similar parades.

Everyone was thankful when the war in Europe ended at midnight on the 8th May 1945. Union Jack flags appeared everywhere and a noisy street party was held in Wigston. Many of our men were still fighting the Japanese in the Far East and, despite the dropping of two atom bombs giving rise to huge casualties, we were greatly relieved when it was all over. It was to be years, however, before life got back to normal.

Conscription continued and in 1946 I was drafted into the Royal Artillery. This seemed somewhat ironic to me after spending four years as a Sea Cadet. I was glad not to be sent down the mines as a 鈥淏evin Boy鈥�. Ernest Bevin had introduced this scheme to increase the amount of coal available.

My initial basic training was done at Ballykinler Camp in Northern Ireland where the recruits arrived after a very stormy sea crossing. Six weeks later I went to Kinmel Park Camp in North Wales. Early in 1947, when England experienced one of the worst winters for years, the Military Hospital in Chester was fast running out of fuel. I was given orders to take a lorry, pick up two German prisoners of war, and proceed to a coal mine near Prestatyn in order to load up with supplies to deliver to the hospital. We struggled to dig our way through deep snow-drifts and spent two nights trying to sleep in the cab before completing our task. It took almost three full days.

My next posting was to Bolton, Lancashire to undergo training as a motor mechanic, after which I was assigned to workshops at Aldershot and then Woolwich. My job was to service and repair lorries used for the transport of tanks and guns, and also to keep all other vehicles in working order.

Whilst I was stationed at Woolwich, a sizeable contingent of my colleagues and I were despatched to London docks with orders to unload a cargo still on board a large merchant ship. The dock workers were on strike. We carried crates on our shoulders from the hold to the dockside whilst enduring a barrage of jeers and catcalls. At one point the man in front of me dropped his burden after being deliberately tripped by a docker. It smashed to pieces allowing oranges to roll out. As an extremely scarce commodity, these were destined for very young children but the dockers nearby soon snapped them up. A fight would have ensued but for the intervention of our sergeant ordering his men back to their task.

At that time anti-freeze was not available, consequently the water in the engines had to be drained off every time the air temperature dropped below a certain level. However, a staff car, an ambulance and a truck used by the Regimental Police had their engines turned over every hour so as to be ready for immediate use.

Because of the coal shortage the trains at that time had no heating, and they often broke down. Very little rolling stock had been replaced since the war started. Even short journeys were prolonged and tedious.

The time came for my demobilisation. Unfortunately so did the Russian blockade of Berlin so my time in the army had to be extended. I was posted into the Regimental Police until the emergency receded. After having been issued with a 鈥渄emob鈥� suit and clothing coupons, I left the barracks only to be stopped at the gate by a shifty-looking 鈥渟piv鈥� offering to buy everything, no doubt for sale on the 鈥渂lack market鈥�. Not very politely I refused!

I was placed on the reserve list and faced the prospect of recall into the forces during the Korean War. Fortunately this did not become necessary. Now, as a civilian, I had the task of resuming normal life, but it did not prove very difficult.

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