大象传媒

WW2 Invasion preparations Brixham Devon
I wonder how many people recall those days in our area. Valerie Mackintosh(nee Tomlinson) was among those drafted into our town as a part of a WRAF team to operate the network of Coastal Forward area Radar Plotting Stations. She was billeted with my parents Ken and Bo Paddon, when we lived at Polhearne Lane Higher Brixham. Val had just lost her brother, a fighter pilot (one of the few) so came to us as an angry young woman determined to do her bit for King and Country.

For her duty watches, Val would join a truck at the Watermans Arms-enroute from lower Brixham. From the inside of the truck she could tell where they were from the bumps in the road and the sound of the engine as they negotiated hills and bends to Brownstone Battery near Coleton Fishacre. The shifts were extremely busy and there was constant change to the installation and routine as adjustments were made at each site to ensure there were no holes in the network that would miss incoming aircraft.

Like all situations though they did have their lighter moments. Val joined us just around the Plymouth Blitz-she became a good friend and Aunt at home, taking part in family life as it was. Dad was away many evenings (as a Fireman) fighting fires at Plymouth and other areas from the Bombing. Val would help Mum bundle us into the air-raid shelter if she was off duty during a raid and generally help to keep morale high-a sobering thought when most of these girls were in the 18 鈥�22 year age group and miles from home!

The oldest male on the Radar station was 40 and known as Zeeke. He would take his Violin to play and practice in the quieter periods. The station joke was that Zeeke was our 鈥淣atural Deterrent鈥� on several occasions he could be found playing the Violin outside near the Transmitter aerial to keep 鈥淭he Hordes鈥� away-or was it for peace in the Bunker?

Again on the lighter side there were off duty singsongs in the Watermans Arms and Bell Inn and Val would sometimes join my Grandfather at the ARP station in Horsepool Street for a game of darts. Occasionally she could get accommodation for her boyfriend Bill (later to become her husband). One of the best (value for money) locations at short notice was The Bell Inn run by Sam James and his sister-sadly no longer with us- accommodation was 30/- a week and excellent meals were provided by Sam鈥檚 Sister. One of Bill鈥檚 favourite dinners was 鈥淛ugged Hare鈥� which was cooked and prepared to perfection for the princely sum of 1/6d.

Recollections of my own at that time are somewhat vague-being only 4 years old when Val joined our family. One vivid memory I do have was during the period leading up to the Invasion. Every estuary, river and inlet around Brixham and Dartmouth was wall to wall with landing craft. My brother Antony and I had been told that we were to be at Bakers Hill School Rooms at a certain time and on no occasion were we to be late! We of course got totally absorbed in play in our orchard near Polhearne Farm. What a shock when real soldiers came sneaking down through the undergrowth, firing their guns as they came. We took off like two Jack Rabbits, down the wall and through the private lane linking the farm with 鈥淏lack House鈥�. The soldiers followed and we made the School Room (screaming for Mum)
In what must still stand as a world record for 6 and 7 year old boys! A stern but not over the top telling off from Mum was the prelude to an even more puzzling event. We all sat down to a monster tea with all the trimmings, served up by some of the same soldiers. They still looked rather frightening in their battle dress with blackened up faces-although smiling reassuringly as they served out the goodies and took part in a lucky dip where every child received a small gift. Not long after, the important date of June 6th 1944 marked the beginning of the Invasion that these soldiers and many other servicemen had been preparing for. Val was now stationed at Beer and recalls wave upon wave of Bombers coming out over the Exe Estuary to start the Softening up process of that historic day. From their Radar site they had an unsurpassed view of the aircraft passing out low across the sea, hugging the waves to keep below the Radar Scanners on the German occupied beaches of France.
My other recollection was being dragged back from the upstairs bay window of the Ship Caf茅 at Brixham harbour after showing an unhealthy interest in what I believe was an ME-109 intent on shooting up the harbour, attempting once more to sink the coal ship City of London. The general feeling was that the pilot had a personal vendetta as he later made a 鈥渟uccessful鈥� attack on the Torquay side of the bay. Later that evening, Lord Haw Haw announced that the City of London had been sunk- 鈥淎 Great Liner鈥�!! Val, in Torquay at the time, was lucky to escape with her life on that occasion when machine gun bullets slammed into the ground around her as she defiantly but stupidly raised her fist.

Val Mackintosh and Her Husband live in Deep Lake, Ontario Canada- We have always kept in touch. Mum(Bo) passed away this June at the good age of 93. Dad 鈥擪en (Doc) 91, now lives down in Cornwall near to Antony and I. Provided by Michael Paddon, 5 Estuary View, Lelant TR26 3ES

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