大象传媒

1943
Life continued on the same sort of pattern. The RAF bombed Berlin regularly, and we were intrigued to learn about the 鈥渂ouncing bomb鈥�. This was a bomb that was dropped into the water, and bounced across the reservoir, to burst the dam, and flood the Ruhr and Eder valleys beyond.
It was also the time when we began to relax about the fear of invasion. Church bells rang on Sundays, and we were even allowed to re-erect our signposts in rural areas.
I was still getting letters from Eric, and from the Middle East although they were heavily censored, and I had no idea where he was, But at least I knew he was still alive and well. When the invasion of Sicily started, and later the landings at the Anzio beach head in Italy, I assumed he was there and waited anxiously for news. The Germans were still losing in Africa and Russia continued to push back the Germans on their home territory.
During this time ( August 1943) I was asked if I would like a transfer to an Infantry Records office in Middlesex, who were short of staff, as people did not want to work in the London area. As the money was considerably more and I wanted to leave home, and be independent, I decided to go. Eric was still abroad, and I wanted to start saving for the life we hoped to have together, in the future, it if ever came. It was a peculiar period and one could only live one day at a time, as he could have been killed abroad, and I could have been killed by the many bombs which fell in the London Area.
I found that the new office, dealt with the records of infantry units, The Buffs, The East Surrey Regiment, and several others, whose names escape me at the present moment. The work was very similar, keeping records of the troop movements, bringing units up to strength, notifying next of kin of alterations, in the status of the soldier. 鈥淲ounded, missing, missing believed prisoner of war, and worst of all killed in action.鈥� This was very difficult, as one could become emotionally involved, especially as my own husband was overseas. I had to treat them as one more form to be filled up, and even when I received one of the forms myself one morning, I just thought 鈥� Oh, a C208 鈥� or whatever the form was, and it took quite a few minutes to penetrate my brain, that Eric had been wounded. That was all it said, and from then on it was a terrible time, how bad was the wound, had he lost a limb, an eye...? and so the thoughts went through one鈥檚 head. It wasn鈥檛 so bad when I was working, but in the evenings, the anxiety was there and it was difficult to concentrate.
In September, Italy signed an armistice. The Italians then declared war on Germany a few weeks later. There were still many German troops in Italy, and they were using Monte Cassino,
a monastery, as a fortress to stop the Allies pushing northwards. This was proved to be a serious obstacle, and after much deliberation, it was decided to bomb the monastery.
Eventually I received a letter from Eric, who was in a hospital in Naples. A shrapnel wound in his leg, and not too serious. He had been wounded in the Cassino, and had been taken to a hospital in Naples.
Meanwhile, my life became one long round of eat, sleep and work. I spent most of the time with my landlady and her two children. I did not go out very much, because of the constant air-raids, although I used to mind the children, while she went out. I have never made friends very quickly, and was content to read my books and listen to the radio. One night we had an air raid and the bomb fell on the coal store of the local hospital, and it was really funny to see the people out in the streets and gardens picking up the coal, as fuel was in short supply. I don鈥檛 think any was returned to the hospital.
Another night, I went up to London, to see one of the few shows which were still put on at the Palladium, and on my way home from the station, I had to walk across the common. Suddenly, there came the low buzz of a flying bomb, and I was frightened and panicked. It was very frightening to look up in the sky and see the orange flame coming from the back. The next thing was I found myself curled round the bottom of a small shrub. It couldn鈥檛 have protected me, but the comfort it gave me. Then the engine stopped, and I counted to ten and a loud bang followed.
Missed me!!
February 1942
Then came Christmas, and the fall of Singapore. We could only post the men who were not listed as killed, as 鈥渕issing believed P.O.W.鈥� We had many phone calls to the office, but news was very sparse and we no more that the basic information. Later, these men worked on the Burma Railway, and when we were in Thailand, we went to the cemetery where they were buried. Rows and rows of graves of young men, who had no future, and I was the one who had sent the letters about the deaths of their relatives. I looked at the names and ages and I stood and cried thinking to myself. Why them !! and then why me ? In a war, no-one really wins, the British mothers, German mothers and Japanese mothers must all grieve for their sons. Maybe some nationalities have the grief lessened by the thought that it was for their country, but there must still be the sense of loss. I shall never forget the bridge across the River Kwai, and the thoughts of the cruelty shown to the soldiers who built the railway. One of our friends spent a long time as a prisoner of war, and when he returned to England he had an eye defect and it was very noticeable that when we went for a drink, he always sat in a corner. He always made sure that no-one could ever get behind him. Although he would never talk about the time he was a prisoner, he was never the same person again.
1942
On the Home front, things were getting tighter. To consolidate our resources, lines were painted on baths in hotels and public baths, to remind us that we could not have more than 5鈥� of hot water, there was one tablet of soap per month. Ladies used beetroot juice for lipstick, and legs were covered with gravy browning, and pencil lines were drawn to make the seams. Skirts were to be shorter, and there were to be no turn-ups on men鈥檚 trousers. Later in the year, sweets were rationed, and fuel was rationed. Milk was limited to two and a half pints per week.
1942
During this year, there were mixed fortunes in the war zones.
In March there was a raid by our Forces on the St. Nazaire U-Boat base, and the RAF introduced a heavier bomb of 4,000 lbs. Although Tokyo was bombed by the U.S. Air Force, their troops took the Phillipines and it wasn鈥檛 until December that the British troops began to push back the Japanese in Burma.
The biggest contingent of US troops arrived in Northern Ireland.
1942. In Africa the Allies were driven back by the Germans and Tobruk was taken. Troops pushed towards Cairo, and it was not until November, that the Germans were in retreat. On the Russian front, the Germans were advancing until the end of the year, when the positions were reversed and the Germans surrendered at Stalingrad.
Eisenhower was put in charge of troops in Europe (June) and later Montgomery took over the Eighth Army.
There had been many stories of the Germans鈥� treatment of the Jews, but it was incredible when it was revealed that over a million had been killed.
The one other announcement was to have an impact on all our lives, it was the splitting of the atom.
1943
I was still working in London, and the raids became part of our lives. The bombing of German towns continued, especially Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg etc. and we were beginning to feel that at least we were beginning to hit back. When Berlin was bombed, we were threatened with a 鈥渟ecret weapon鈥�, but we didn鈥檛 take it very seriously. Presumably this was the V1 and V2. On our side , we had a bomb, which actually bounced and burst the walls of two dams in the Ruhr and Eder valleys.
We were even allowed to ring the bells on Sundays, and put back the signposts as the threat of invasion had been lifted. It became compulsory for women of 18-45 to work part time in the shops, and men were called up to work in the mines.
In July the Allies landed in Sicily, pushing on through Italy. Italy finally surrendered in September, and then in October they declared war on Germany. The Germans were still fighting in the North of Italy, and they turned the monastery at Cassino into a fortress. After a great deal of discussion, it was decided that it was necessary to bomb the monastery, as troops were being shelled from the high points. Although it was four months under seige, before it was captured.
1943
During this time, I celebrated my 21st birthday and we planned to go to the local pub, after work. After lunch, I received an urgent call from the War Office, two units needed to be brought up to strength immediately and they indicated the rank and trade of the men required. This meant I had to research the training centres to find the people available, and the assembled company of friends had drunk my health many times before I joined them, but nevertheless it was a great evening. Someone had given some rations to make a cake, and I had some lovely gifts.
October 1943
The next event I remember, was the exchange of 4,200 Prisoners of War through the good offices of Count Bernedotte and the Red Cross in Sweden.
We were told to expect lists of men who had reached this country, and after leave, we arranged for them to have a medical examination and for a board of doctors to grade them. This would determine if they would be fit to continue their military service after further treatment, or if they should be given an immediate discharge.
Most of them reported as requested, except one man, who kept returning the letters, endorsed 鈥淕one away鈥�. There was every indication that he was in fact still at the address, but wanted a few more days at home. Working on a hunch, I sent a telegram, giving time and place of a medical board, and the additional warning that if he did not report as requested, he would be posted A.W.O.L. (absent without leave) and posted as a deserter. Needless to say , he attended.
A few months later, the commissioner came to my desk and said there was a man in the waiting room, who wanted to see me,
and when I went down, he shook my hand and said that he thought he knew all the K.R.鈥檚 (Kings Regulations) and could beat the system, but I had certainly won that round.
The 鈥渇ollow up鈥� action for these men continued for many months. There was the back pay to be worked out, medical problems and marital problems. While these men had been away, some of the wives had found other men, there had been illegitimate children and although we could not help with the marital side, we had many letters asking for advice, and we had lists of contacts who could help. Learning to live together again, must have been very traumatic. Many of the wives told me, that the personalities of their husbands had changed, as they were in many cases very short-tempered. One became very involved, as the men who had been numbers on their records, became people, who phoned us and talked of their problems.
1944
This was a year when the war became a time of leaders, who were to lead us to a 鈥渨orld fit for heroes to live in.鈥� Eisenhower, Montgomery, Mountbatten. Eisenhower became Supreme Commander of Allied invasion forces in Europe. We began to look to an upturn in our fortunes, and to the forthcoming invasion of Europe. Visitors were precluded from ten miles around the South East Coast, and we therefore felt that this area was to provide a spring-board to the Continent. There were exercises to train troops for the invasion, especially airborne ones, and we began to move the units to the Southern Areas. Being in the Record office, and involved in bringing regiments up to strength, we gained an insight into the preparations, and were warned not to talk about our work, as it could jeopardise the success of the future invasion. One of the slogans was that 鈥淐areless talk costs lives鈥� and we were very conscious of our responsibilities. War also brought another invention, the jet engine by Frank Whittle.
Our domestic future was discussed. There were plans for our future schools, the 大象传媒 would broadcast lessons. The school leaving age would be raised to 16, and there would be a free medical service for all. The Government would build 300,000 houses after the war. We also heard about 500,00 pre-fabricated houses, which would be built. These houses were in kit form, and came in large units which could be quickly assembled. They were supposed to last for ten years, but there are still some in existence to this day. It was wonderful to talk about the future after the war.
Hitler must have been getting desperate as he mobilised all children over ten. The bombing of Berlin continued and all passenger trains in France were cancelled. In Italy, the Allies advanced and Rome was taken. However, the Vatican City was untouched. In Burma, there was a large operation behind the Japanese lines, and the American troops occupied New Guinea.
(March 1944)Then I received word, that Eric, my husband was being repatriated to a London Hospital, and I could see him there. My feelings were chaotic, as we had not seen each other for over two years and during the train journey, I was wondering what to say.
When I got to the hospital ward, I was told he was in the grounds. I found him in a wheelchair, and all I could say at first, was 鈥渉allo how are you ?鈥� Afterwards, there was so much to say and the time flew quickly past, until it was time to catch my train.
A few weeks later, he was transferred to a local hospital, and was allowed out in the day time, so that we had many happy hours, getting to know each other, as after all we had only been married ten days before he went overseas.
He attended a medical board, and we hoped that he would be discharged from the Army, but despite disagreement among the board members, he was not allowed to leave the services, and was posted to Richmond Depot. Once there, he had stayed out overnight and was confined to barracks. As there was a dance there, I went to see him, missed the last bus home, and spent two and a half hours walking home. I couldn鈥檛 take any short cuts, as I had to follow the bus route. Still, it was worth it, as he was being posted to Catterick Camp during the next few days.
6th June 1944
Suddenly there came 鈥淒鈥� day. We were sitting in the canteen of the Infantry Record building, having lunch when the announcement came.
We cheered and hugged each other, and that night we went out to the pub to celebrate. Not for long, however, as a week later the first V-1 bomb was dropped. 10 tons of explosive, travelling at 400 mph. The bomb had a plank of wood across it, and orange flames came from out of the back. The anti-aircraft guns tried to shoot them down, and the Air Force planes tried to bring them down by tipping the end of the cross-bar. I saw one go by, when I was on the top floor of the building, and it was most peculiar. The engine made a burring sound like a small motorbike. In July, over 41,000 mothers and children were evacuated from London because of the V.1 鈥榮 which were coming at the rate of 100 per day. In view of this, deeper shelters had to be built. The next weapon in September was the V-2. which was a rocket, launched from bases in the Netherlands, and completely noiseless, until it hit the target. and the whole building collapsed in a pall of smoke. It weighed about 12 tons and had a range of 200 miles. I was walking along a street in the centre of London and suddenly there was an explosion, and the large store on the corner was just a mound of rubble and dust. One man literally tore his hair out as he stood there. We found out, when we had calmed him down a little, that his wife and baby were in the shop. I don鈥檛 think they were ever found. At first it was rumoured that there had been a series of gas leaks, but it was not long before we learned the horrible truth.

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